Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Panini, Language Machine
Mains level: Not Much
A grammatical problem by Panini that has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th Century BC has finally been solved by an Indian Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge.
Who was Panini?
- Panini was a Sanskrit philologist, grammarian, and revered scholar in ancient India, variously dated between the 6th and 4th century BCE.
- Since the discovery and publication of his work by European scholars in the nineteenth century, Panini has been considered the “first descriptive linguist” and even labelled as “the father of linguistics”.
- Panini’s grammar was influential on such foundational linguists as Ferdinand de Saussure and Leonard Bloomfield.
Major literary works
- Panini is known for his texts- Astadhyayi, a sutra-style treatise on Sanskrit grammar, verses or rules on linguistics, syntax and semantics in “eight chapters” which is the foundational text of the Vyakarna branch of the Vedanga.
- His text attracted numerous bhashya (commentaries), of which Patanjali’s Mahabhashya is the most famous.
- His ideas influenced and attracted commentaries from scholars of other Indian religions such as Buddhism.
What is the recent breakthrough?
- Panini had an extraordinary mind and he built a language machine unrivaled in human history.
- The 2,500-year-old algorithm decoded by him makes it possible, for the first time, to accurately use Panini’s so-called “language machine”.
- This discovery makes it possible to “derive” any Sanskrit word, to construct millions of grammatically correct words, using Panini’s language machine.
- This is widely considered to be one of the greatest intellectual achievements in history.
How does this language machine works?
- Panini’s system – 4,000 rules detailed in his renowned work, the Astadhyayi, which is thought to have been written around 500 BC – is meant to work like a machine.
- Feed in the base and suffix of a word and it should turn them into grammatically correct words and sentences through a step-by-step process.
Significance of this development
- A major implication of the recent discovery is that now there is an algorithm that runs Panini’s grammar.
- We can potentially teach this grammar to computers.
- Computer scientists working on Natural Language Processing (NLP) gave up on rule-based approaches over 50 years ago.
- NLP is a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning.
- So teaching computers how to combine the speaker’s intention with Panini’s rule-based grammar to produce human speech would be a major milestone in the history of human interaction with machines.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BH Series
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway has notified new rules to further increase the scope of implementation of the BH series registrations for vehicles.
What is the update?
The transport ministry has proposed new rules that would permit transfer of vehicles with BH series registration mark to other persons, who are eligible or ineligible for the getting the series.
What is Bharat series (BH-series)?
- There was a procedure of re-registration of a vehicle while moving to another state.
- A vehicle bearing BH registration mark shall not require assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one State to another.
- Format of Bharat series (BH-series) Registration Mark –
Registration Mark Format:
- YY BH #### XX
- YY – Year of first registration
- BH- Code for Bharat Series
- ####- 0000 to 9999 (randomized)
- XX- Alphabets (AA to ZZ)
Why such move?
- Station relocation occurs with both Government and private sector employees.
- Such movements create a sense of unease in the minds of such employees with regard to transfer of registration from the parent state to another state.
- Under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a person is allowed to keep the vehicle for not more than 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle is registered.
Who can get this BH series?
- BH-series will be available on voluntary basis to Defense personnel, employees of Central Government/ State Government/ Central/ State PSUs and private sector companies/organizations.
- The motor vehicle tax will be levied for two years or in multiple of two.
- This scheme will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across States/UTs of India upon relocation to a new State/UT.
- After completion of the fourteenth year, the motor vehicle tax shall be levied annually which shall be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CPJ Report
Mains level: Freedom of press
The number of journalists jailed around the world for practicing their profession has touched a record high, with 363 reporters deprived of their freedom as of December 1, 2022, according to the 2022 prison census released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
About Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
- The CPJ is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world.
- CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.
- It is often called as the “Journalism’s Red Cross.”
- Since late 1980s, the organization has been publishing an annual census of journalists killed or imprisoned in relation to their work.
Key highlights of CPJ report
- This year’s top five jailers of journalists were Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey, and Belarus, respectively.
- New ‘fake news’ laws, criminal defamation, and abuse of judiciary are also tactics used to clamp down on press freedom.
- This year’s top five jailers of journalists were Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey, and Belarus, respectively.
- These govt aimed to keep the lid on broiling discontent in a world disrupted by COVID-19 and the economic fallout from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
- In China, too, another ‘worst offender’, many imprisoned journalists were Uighurs from Xinjiang.
What did it say about India?
India continues to draw criticism over its treatment of the media, in particular its use of-
- Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act,
- Preventive detention law- to keep journalists behind bars after they were granted court-ordered bail in separate cases,
- Terrorism-related Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to investigate and charge the journalists.
Why does this report matter?
- Earlier this year, India has reached 150th position in the World Press Freedom Index, dropping further from its last year’s 142nd rank out of 180 countries.
- The safety of journalists is a grave concern in the Indian media landscape.
Conclusion
- The right occasion to deliberate about the much-needed reforms in the media ecosystem in the country is due.
- Establishing plurality in ownership, better legal frameworks to protect journalists, and steps to reduce the influence of vested interest groups in Media operations are the immediate steps required.
Back2Basics: Freedom of Press and Constitutional Provisions
- The Supreme Court in Romesh Thappar v. the State of Madras, 1950 observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations.
- It is guaranteed under the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with ‘Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
- Freedom of the press is not expressly protected by the Indian legal system but it is impliedly protected under article 19(1) (a) of the constitution.
- The freedom of the press is also not absolute.
Reasonable restrictions
- A law could impose only those restrictions on the exercise of this right, it faces certain restrictions under article 19(2), which is as follows:
- Sovereignty and integrity of India
- Security of the State,
- Friendly relations with foreign States
- Public order, decency or morality
- Contempt of court
- Defamation
- Incitement to an offence
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Agni Missiles
Mains level: LAC skirmishes
India successfully carried out the night trials of the Agni V nuclear-capable ballistic missile days after Indian and Chinese troops clashed in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Why in news?
- It was a midnight test fire.
- And there are rumours about the increased range and stealth capabilities of Agni-V missile.
Agni Missiles
- Agni missiles are long range, nuclear weapons capable surface to surface ballistic missile.
- The first missile of the series, Agni-I was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) and tested in 1989.
- After its success, Agni missile program was separated from the IGMDP upon realizing its strategic importance.
- It was designated as a special program in India’s defence budget and provided adequate funds for subsequent development.
Variants of Agni missiles
- Agni I: It is a Medium Range Ballistic Missile with a Range of 700-800 km.
- Agni II: It is also a Medium Range Ballistic Missile with a Range more than 2000 km.
- Agni III: It is also an Inter-Medium Range Ballistic Missile with Range of more than 2,500 Km
- Agni IV: It is also an Inter-Medium Range Ballistic Missile with Range is more than 3,500 km and can fire from a road mobile launcher.
- Agni-V: Currently it is the longest of Agni series, an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of over 5,000 km.
- Agni- VI: The longest of the Agni series, an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of ICBM 11,000–12,000 km.
Strategic significance of Agni Missiles
- The success of AGNI missiles is in line with India’s stated policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’.
- What makes Agni 5 agile is that it is a “canisterised” missile. It means that the missile can be launched from road and rail platforms, making it easier for it to be deployed and launched at a quicker pace.
- The canisterisation also gives the missile a longer shelf life, protecting it from the harsher climatic conditions.
- While India is among the handful of nations with ICBM capability.
- The next generation of the missile, Agni VI, under development, is expected to have a range of around 8,000 km.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PFMS, PAC
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in its report found that the tasks related to the implementation of the PFMS appeared to have been dealt with a casual approach and there was no proper financial planning.
Public Finance Management System (PFMS)
- PFMS is an online platform developed and implemented by the office of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) under the Union Ministry of Finance.
- The PFMS portal is used to make direct payments to beneficiaries of government schemes.
- PFMS initially started as a Plan scheme named CPSMS of the Planning Commission in 2008-09 as a pilot in four States of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Mizoram.
- It was for four Flagship schemes e.g. MGNREGS, NRHM, SSA and PMGSY.
- In December, 2013 the Union Cabinet approved the national roll out of PFMS for all States.
Mandate of PFMS
PFMS has been mandated the following:
- It acts as a financial management platform for all plan schemes and allows for efficient and effective tracking of fund flow to the lowest level of implementation for the planning scheme of the Government.
- It is mandated to provide information on fund utilization leading to better monitoring, review, and decision support system to enhance public accountability in the implementation of plan schemes.
- To result in effectiveness and economy in Public Finance Management through better cash management for Government transparency in public expenditure and real-time information on resource availability and utilization across schemes.
Achievements of PFMS
- PFMS can be credited to the transformation of Direct Beneficiary Transfers space in financial governance in India.
- An estimated 102 crore DBT transactions were done through PFMS in FY 19-20 amounting to about ₹2.67 lakh crore.
- Through efficient use of technology, PFMS is estimated to have saved about ₹1 lakh crore in direct beneficiary transfers.
Factors that could determine the successful evolution of PFMS in future
- Agility in terms of Onboarding/Integrating all Govt. accounts: Only after ensuring significant coverage, the true execution of the concept will take place.
- Effective data management capabilities: PFMS will have to add significant data management capabilities in order to ensure better monitoring/review to deliver on the idea of a decision support system for effective cash management or management of idle float in the system.
- Constantly upgrading: Adaption to rapid changes in technology is another key area that would call for a considerable amount of focus both in terms of gradation and monitoring.
- Collaboration with the banking system: Lastly, one of the most critical factors for the successful execution of PFMS is its integration with the banking systems.
What did PAC observe now?
- PAC is concerned over data security of PFMS.
- It observed that in the absence of a dedicated workforce, a key strategic system like the PFMS could possibly encounter new threats every now and then owing to the advancements in technology.
- It stressed the need for a thorough assessment of physical and technical infrastructure along with back-up arrangements required in the PFMS scheme.
Conclusion
- The PFMS has revolutionized the ways public finances are managed in the country.
- With constant improvement and increasing coverage, the scope of PFMS is ever-increasing.
Back2Basics: Public Accounts Committee
- The PAC is a committee of selected members of parliament constituted for the purpose of auditing the revenue and the expenditure of the Government of India.
- It was established in 1921 after its first mention in the Government of India Act, 1919.
- PAC is one of the parliamentary committees that examine the annual audit reports of CAG, which the President lays before the Parliament of India.
- It seeks to examines public expenditure.
- Those three reports submitted by CAG are:
- Audit report on appropriation accounts
- Audit report on finance accounts
- Audit report on public undertakings
Its members-
- It consists of not more than twenty-two members, fifteen elected by Lok Sabha and not more than seven members of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament.
- The members are elected every year from amongst its members of respective houses according to the principle of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
- None of its members are allowed to be ministers in the government.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Airport traffic management
As more passengers take to the skies, airports in India’s top cities—Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru—are witnessing heavy traffic.
What is causing congestion at airports?
- There are lengthy queues at airport entry, check-in counters, security, and immigration.
- There is crowding at baggage claim areas too.
- This is the result of an unexpected surge in demand for air travel because of the holiday season—the last two years saw muted demand during this period because of the pandemic.
- Air traffic has been 1-7% above pre-covid levels of 4 lakh daily flyers for the past 10 days.
- Consequently, the personnel strength of CISF at check-in, the number of X-Ray machines and automatic trays for security, as well as baggage belts, have fallen short in handling the demand.
Which airports are most affected?
- The congestion is more severe at airports with maximum connectivity such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
- The worst-hit is Delhi—the busiest airport in India and 10th busiest in the world.
- Delhi handles the largest share of international as well as domestic air traffic in the country with a 27% share in international segment for the country and 20% in overall air traffic in India.
- The airport, with three terminals, has a capacity to handle around 70 million passengers per annum.
- Over the last 10 days, the airport has handled over 190,000 passengers daily, which is close to its full capacity.
Is airport congestion an India-specific problem?
- Globally, air travel continues to face disruptions.
- Europe’s busiest airport, London Heathrow, needs to hire around 25,000 staff to manage peak hours.
- Schiphol in Amsterdam has imposed a 20% cap on capacity to manage traffic.
- The aviation industry laid off thousands of people during the pandemic, and expects staff strength to realign by mid-2023.
What is being done to decongest airports?
- The aviation ministry has recommended a reduction in the number of flights and more manpower at all check-in and baggage drop counters.
- It has sought for increasing the number of X-ray machines and baggage trays for security check.
- The government will also analyse manpower requirements at immigration counters and, if required, additional personnel will be deployed.
- IndiGo, the largest airline in India, has asked fliers to report 3.5 hours early for domestic flights from Delhi.
Easing the airport congestion
- There is no immediate solution, and the government’s action plan will only bring temporary relief. Increasing the number of personnel at entry, security, and immigration will take time.
- Higher usage of the contactless travel platform—Digi Yatra—for passengers without check-in luggage is expected to ease the congestion a bit.
- Cities like Delhi and Mumbai need additional infrastructure.
- However, the Jewar airport in Noida and the Navi Mumbai airport are expected to be operational only by 2024.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Beypore Uru, GI Tags in news
Mains level: Not Much
The District Tourism Promotion Council, Kozhikode has applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the famous Beypore Uru (boat).
Beypore Uru
- Beypore Uru is a wooden dhow (ship / sailing boat / sailing vessel) handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore, Kerala.
- They are a symbol of Kerala’s trade relations and friendship with the Gulf countries.
- It is purely made of premium wood, without using any modern techniques.
- The wood used is still sawed the traditional way which requires immense expertise.
- It takes anywhere between 1-4 years to build each Uru and the entire process is done manually.
Its historic significance
- Historical records show that Beypore has been a legendary maritime hub for traders from across the world since the 1st Century C.E.
- The iconic Uru ships have been in high demand for around 2000 years.
- The history of Khalasis, skilled natives engaged in launching the Uru boats at Beypore, dates back to 2000 years.
- The prominent people among them are Odayis. They manage the technical matters of ship building.
- Their family name comes from Odam (a type of small ship previously used in interactions/trade between the Malabar coast and Lakshadweep).
- They are also referred to as Mappila Khalasis as majority of them are Mappila Muslims.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statement:
- They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
- They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
- They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)
- A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
- Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
- GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
- The tag stands valid for 10 years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OIC
Mains level: Pakistani narrative for Kashmir
India strongly condemned the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation chief’s visit to Line of Control (LoC) from the Pakistani side.
What is OIC?
- The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
- The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
- OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.
India and OIC
- At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
- In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
- Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.
Recent developments
- In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honor”.
- This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
- Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down its demand to rescind the invitation.
- Earlier this year, the ousted Pakistani PM called a OIC summit which ended up without any remarks.
What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?
- It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
- Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
- To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
- Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticized India.
How has India been responding?
- India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
- The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
- It has maintained its “consistent and well known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi.
- India asserts that- OIC has become a “mouthpiece” of Pakistan and that the organisation has been taking “blatantly communal, partisan and factually incorrect approach to issues”.
OIC members and India
- Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
- The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbors, Bangladesh and Maldives.
- Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.
Way ahead
- India now sees the duality of the OIC as untenable, since many of these countries have good bilateral ties and convey to India to ignore OIC statements.
- But these countries sign off on the joint statements which are largely drafted by Pakistan.
- India feels it important to challenge the double-speak since Pakistan’s campaign and currency on the Kashmir issue have hardly any takers in the international community.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Loan Write-Off
Mains level: NPAs
Banks have written off bad loans worth ₹10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years, finance minister informed the Parliament.
What is a loan write-off?
- Writing off a loan essentially means it will no longer be counted as an asset.
- By writing off loans, a bank can reduce the level of non-performing assets (NPAs) on its books.
- The bank moves the defaulted loan, or NPA, out of the assets side and reports the amount as a loss.
- An additional benefit is that the amount so written off reduces the bank’s tax liability.
- The loans written off by the banks are the depositors’ money.
Why do banks resort to write-offs?
- Recovery issues: The bank writes off a loan after the borrower has defaulted on the loan repayment and there is a very low chance of recovery. However, the chances of recovery from written-off loans are very low.
- Provisioning: After the write-off, banks are supposed to continue their efforts to recover the loan using various options. They have to make provisioning as well.
- Reduce tax liability: The tax liability will also come down as the written-off amount is reduced from the profit.
Who is at the forefront of write-offs?
- Public sector banks reported the lion’s share of write-offs at Rs 734,738 crore accounting for 72.78 per cent of the exercise.
- Among individual public sector banks, reduction in NPAs due to write-offs in the case of State Bank of India Rs 204,486 crore in the last five years.
- Among private banks, ICICI Bank’s reduction in NPAs due to write-offs was Rs 50,514 crore in the last five years.
- Axis Bank wrote off Rs 49,715 crore and HDFC Bank Rs 34,782 crore during the period, according to the RBI.
What about recovery of such loans?
- Since the loan account is not closed in write-off, the right to recovery of the amount is not waived by the lender or the bank.
- The bank or lender can try to recover the loan amount from the loan defaulter.
Back2Basics: Non-Performing Assets (NPAs)
- A NPA is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.
- Banks are required to classify NPAs further into Substandard, Doubtful and Loss assets.
- Substandard assets: Assets which has remained NPA for a period less than or equal to 12 months.
- Doubtful assets: An asset would be classified as doubtful if it has remained in the substandard category for a period of 12 months.
- Loss assets: As per RBI, “Loss asset is considered uncollectible and of such little value that its continuance as a bankable asset is not warranted, although there may be some salvage or recovery value.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Fusion Energy
Mains level: Clean energy developments
US announced a “major scientific breakthrough” in the decades-long quest to harness fusion, the energy that powers the sun and stars.
What is Fusion?
- Fusion works by pressing hydrogen atoms into each other with such force that they combine into helium, releasing enormous amounts of energy and heat.
- This process occurs in our Sun and other stars.
- Creating conditions for fusion on Earth involves generating and sustaining a plasma.
- Plasmas are gases that are so hot that electrons are freed from atomic nuclei.
How is it carried out?
- Three conditions must be fulfilled to achieve fusion in a laboratory:
- Very high temperature (on the order of 150,000,000° Celsius);
- Sufficient plasma particle density (to increase the likelihood that collisions do occur); and
- Sufficient confinement time (to hold the plasma, which has a propensity to expand, within a defined volume).
- At extreme temperatures, electrons are separated from nuclei and a gas becomes a plasma—often referred to as the fourth state of matter.
- Fusion plasmas provide the environment in which light elements can fuse and yield energy.
Fusion Energy
- The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei.
- The leftover mass becomes energy.
What did the US achieve?
- The US experiment uses a process called inertial confinement fusion.
- It involved bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser.
Why is it perceived as energy of the future?
- Carbon free: Fusion Reactions could one day produce nearly limitless, carbon-free energy, displacing fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources.
- Efficient: Net energy gain has been an elusive goal because fusion happens at such high temperatures and pressures that it is incredibly difficult to control.
- Clean: Unlike other nuclear reactions, it doesn’t create radioactive waste.
Fusion still far from reality. Why?
- Significant though the achievement is, it does little to bring the goal of producing electricity from fusion reactions any closer to reality.
- By all estimates, use of the fusion process for generating electricity at a commercial scale is still two to three decades away.
- The technology used in the US experiment might take even longer to get deployed.
India’s progress: ITER project
- International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today.
- The idea for an international joint experiment in fusion was first launched in 1985.
- In southern France, 35 nations* are collaborating to build the world’s largest tokamak, a magnetic fusion device that has been designed to prove the feasibility of fusion.
- ITER is funded and run by seven member parties: China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Base Editing
Mains level: Not Much
A teenage cancer patient suffering from T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) has defeated her seemingly incurable cancer with the help of base editing technique.
Base Editing
- Bases are the language of life. The four types of base – adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T) – are the building blocks of our genetic code.
- Just as letters in the alphabet spell out words that carry meaning, the billions of bases in our DNA spell out the instruction manual for our body.
- Base editing allows scientists to zoom to a precise part of the genetic code and then alter the molecular structure of just one base, converting it into another and changing the genetic instructions.
- The large team of doctors and scientists used this tool to engineer a new type of T-cell that was capable of hunting down and killing cancerous T-cells.
What is T-Cell?
- T (thymus) cells are type of white blood cell.
- They are part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow.
- They help protect the body from infection and may help fight cancer.
- Also called T lymphocyte and thymocyte.
How base editing helped this teenage cancer patient?
- Doctors started with healthy T-cells that came from a donor and set about modifying them.
- The first base edit disabled the T-cells targeting mechanism so they would not assault patient’s body.
- The second removed a chemical marking, called CD7, which is on all T-cells.
- The third edit was an invisibility cloak that prevented the cells being killed by a chemotherapy drug.
- The final stage of genetic modification instructed the T-cells to go hunting for anything with the CD7 marking on it so that it would destroy every T-cell in patient’s body – including the cancerous ones.
- That’s why this marking has to be removed from the therapy – otherwise it would just destroy itself.
- If the therapy works, the patient’s immune system – including T-cells – will be rebuilt with the second bone-marrow transplant.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Geminids meteoric shower
Mains level: Not Much
Bengalurians are all set to witness the annual Geminids meteor shower.
What are meteor showers?
- Meteors are usually fragments of comets.
- As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.
- Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids.
- When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them.
- Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.
What makes the Geminids unique?
- Geminids is one of the brightest and most reliable annual meteor showers.
- They are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon.
- The 3200 Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983.
- It is named after the Greek mythology character Phaethon, son of the Sun God Helios.
- It takes 1.4 years to complete one round of the Sun.
- As the 3200 Phaethon moves close to the Sun while orbiting it, the rocks on its surface heat up and break off.
- When the Earth passes through the trail of this debris, the Geminids are caused.
Why are they called Geminids?
- That comes from the constellation Gemini, from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate.
- The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night.
- The constellation is not the source of the meteors.
Back2Basics:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Western Disturbances
Mains level: Not Much
The days have been unusually warm for winter in New Delhi with the maximum temperature remaining above normal mostly on account of fewer western disturbances affecting this year.
Western Disturbances
- A western disturbance is an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden winter rain to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent.
- They are labelled as an extra-tropical storm originating in the Mediterranean, is an area of low pressure that brings sudden showers, snow, and fog in northwest India.
- In the term “extra-tropical storm”, storm refers to low pressure. “Extra-tropical” means outside the tropics. As the WD originates outside the tropical region, the word “extra-tropical” has been associated with them.
- It is a non-monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the westerlies.
- The moisture in these storms usually originates over the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
- Extratropical storms are global phenomena with moisture usually carried in the upper atmosphere, unlike their tropical counterparts where the moisture is carried in the lower atmosphere.
- In the case of the Indian subcontinent, moisture is sometimes shed as rain when the storm system encounters the Himalayas.
- Western disturbances are more frequent and strong in the winter season.
Impact: Winter Rainfall and Extreme Cold
- Western disturbances, specifically the ones in winter, bring moderate to heavy rain in low-lying areas and heavy snow to mountainous areas of the Indian Subcontinent.
- They are the cause of most winter and pre-monsoon season rainfall across northwest India.
- An average of four to five western disturbances forms during the winter season.
Its significance
- Precipitation during the winter season has great importance in agriculture, particularly for the rabi crops.
- Wheat among them is one of the most important crops, which helps to meet India’s food security.
Try this PYQ:
Consider the following statements:
- The winds which blow between 30°N and 60°S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies.
- The moist air masses that cause winter rains in the North-Western region of India are part of westerlies.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
Mains level: NA
PM will participate in a program commemorating Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary.
Sri Aurobindo (1872 –1950)
- Sri Aurobindo Ghose was a philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist.
- He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as Vande Mataram.
- He joined the Indian movement for independence from British colonial rule, until 1910 was one of its influential leaders.
Major activities
- Aurobindo studied for the Indian Civil Service at King’s College, Cambridge, England.
- After returning to India he took up various civil service works under the Maharaja of the Princely state of Baroda.
- He became increasingly involved in nationalist politics in the Indian National Congress and the nascent revolutionary movement in Bengal with the Anushilan Samiti.
- He was arrested in the aftermath of a number of bombings linked to his organization in a public trial where he faced charges of treason for Alipore Conspiracy.
- However, Sri Aurobindo could only be convicted and imprisoned for writing articles against British colonial rule in India.
Try this PYQ:
Q. What was the main reason for the split in the Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907?
(a) Introduction of communalism into Indian politics by Lord Minto
(b) Extremists’ lack of faith in the capacity of the moderates to negotiate with the British Government
(c) Foundation of Muslim League
(d) Aurobindo Ghosh’s inability to be elected as the President of the Indian national Congress
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cyclone Mandous
Mains level: Tropical Cyclones
Cyclone Mandous crossed the north Tamil Nadu coast with fierce winds and heavy downpour.
Cyclone Mandous
- ‘Mandous’ was a name submitted by WMO member United Arab Emirates and is pronounced as ‘Man-Dous.’
- It means ‘treasure box’ in Arabic.
What are Tropical Cyclones?
- A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.
- Cyclones are formed over slightly warm ocean waters. The temperature of the top layer of the sea, up to a depth of about 60 meters, need to be at least 28°C to support the formation of a cyclone.
- This explains why the April-May and October-December periods are conducive for cyclones.
- Then, the low level of air above the waters needs to have an ‘anticlockwise’ rotation (in the northern hemisphere; clockwise in the southern hemisphere).
- During these periods, there is an ITCZ in the Bay of Bengal whose southern boundary experiences winds from west to east, while the northern boundary has winds flowing east to west.
- Once formed, cyclones in this area usually move northwest. As it travels over the sea, the cyclone gathers more moist air from the warm sea which adds to its heft.
Requirements for a Cyclone to form
There are six main requirements for tropical cyclogenesis:
- Sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures
- Atmospheric instability
- High humidity in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere
- Enough Coriolis force to develop a low-pressure centre
- A pre-existing low-level focus or disturbance
- Low vertical wind shear
How are the cyclones named?
- In 2000, a group of nations called WMO/ESCAP (World Meteorological Organisation/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) decided to name cyclones.
- It comprised Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand, decided to start naming cyclones in the region.
- After each country sent in suggestions, the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) finalized the list.
- The WMO/ESCAP expanded to include five more countries in 2018 — Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Basics
Cyclones
- The atmospheric disturbances which involve a closed circulation of air around a low pressure at the center and high pressure at the periphery, rotating anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere (due to the Coriolis force) are called “cyclones”.
Cyclones are broadly classified into two types based on the latitudes of their origin-
- Tropical cyclones
- Temperate/Extra-tropical cyclones
Tropical Cyclones
- Tropical cyclones develop in the region between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. These are violent storms that originate over oceans in tropical areas and move on to the coastal regions bringing large-scale destruction caused by violent winds, very heavy rainfall and storm surges. These cyclones are one of the most devastating natural calamities.
- Tropical cyclones mostly move along with the direction of trade winds, so they travel from east to west and make landfall on the eastern coasts of the continents.
- Tropical cyclones are known by different names depending on the regions of the world. They are known as Hurricanes in the Atlantic, Typhoons in the Western Pacific and South China Sea, Willy-willies in Western Australia and Cyclones in the Indian Ocean.
Temperate Cyclones/Extra-Tropical Cyclones
- It occurs between 30°-60° latitude in both hemispheres (in between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic circle in the northern hemisphere and in between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle in the southern hemisphere).
- These cyclones move with the westerlies and are therefore oriented from west to east.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Badri Cow
Mains level: Not Much
To increase the productivity of its indigenous petite Badri cow that grazes on the medicinal herbs of the Himalayas, Uttarakhand is now planning for its genetic enhancement.
Badri Cow
- Badri/Pahari desi cow is a native cow species of Uttarakhand.
- This cow grazes in the Himalayas on native herbs and shrubs and hence its milk has high medicinal value.
- These cattle are well adapted to the hilly terrain and the climatic conditions of Uttarakhand.
- This sturdy and disease-resistant breed is found in hilly regions of the Almora and Pauri Garhwal districts of Uttarakhand.
- Disease resistance is a very important characteristic of this breed as it rarely gets any disease.
Medicinal benefits
- This breed is blessed with strong immunity.
- The milk of the Badri cow contains almost 90% A2 beta-casein proteins – and is one of the highest in any indigenous varieties.
- Antioxidants in pure desi ghee help the body better absorb vitamins and minerals, thus boosting immunity.
- Butyric acid in Badri cow ghee helps strengthen immunity by increasing T-cell production in the gut which helps fight against allergens.
Why in news?
- The State authorities proposed to use sex-sorted semen technology to improve production of Badri cattle.
- They also proposed to opt for the embryo transfer method in order to produce more cattle of high genetic stock.
Economic significance of Badri cow
- The Badri ghee is available at the rate of ₹3,000 to ₹5,000 per kg.
- There is a huge marketing potential for gaumutra ark (distilled cow urine), cow dung, and Panchgavya (the five products of the cow, including milk, curd, ghee, dung and urine).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hornbill Festival
Mains level: NA
The logo for India’s upcoming G20 presidency was officially unveiled recently at the Hornbill festival in Nagaland.
What is Hornbill Festival?
- The Hornbill Festival is a celebration held every year from 1 – 10 December, in Kohima, Nagaland.
- The festival was first held in the year 2000.
- It is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state’s tribes.
- Festival highlights include the traditional Naga Morungs exhibition and the sale of arts and crafts, food stalls, herbal medicine stalls, flower shows and sales, cultural medley – songs and dances, fashion shows etc.
About Great Indian Hornbill
IUCN status: Vulnerable (uplisted from Near Threatened in 2018), CITES: Appendix I
- The great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) also known as the great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family.
- The great hornbill is long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity.
- It is predominantly fruit-eating, but is an opportunist and preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds.
- Its impressive size and colour have made it important in many tribal cultures and rituals.
- A large majority of their population is found in India with a significant proportion in the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris.
- The nesting grounds of the birds in the Nilgiris North Eastern Range are also believed to support some of their highest densities.
Their ecological significance
- Referred to as ‘forest engineers’ or ‘farmers of the forest’ for playing a key role in dispersing seeds of tropical trees, hornbills indicate the prosperity and balance of the forest they build nests in.
Threats
- Hornbills used to be hunted for their casques — upper beak — and feathers for adorning headgear despite being cultural symbols of some ethnic communities in the northeast, specifically the Nyishi of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Illegal logging has led to fewer tall trees where the bird’s nest.
Try this PYQ:
In which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the ‘Great Indian Hornbill’ in its natural habitat? (CSP 2016)
(a) Sand deserts of northwest India
(b) Higher Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir
(c) Salt marshes of western Gujarat
(d) Western Ghats
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ramjet, Scramjet Engine
Mains level: Not Much
The ISRO successfully conducted test for credible next-generation air-breathing scramjet engines, in order to launch satellites in a predetermined orbit at a low cost.
What is a jet engine?
- A jet engine is a machine that converts energy-rich, liquid fuel into a powerful pushing force called thrust.
- The thrust from one or more engines pushes a plane forward, forcing air past its scientifically shaped wings to create an upward force called lift that powers it into the sky.
Ramjet vs. Scramjet Engine
- Both scramjet and Ramjet are types of jet engines.
- A ramjet is an air breathing jet engine which is usually associated with supersonic transport.
- Ramjets can start at supersonic speeds only, so as a result they cannot be started at zero velocity and cannot produce thrust as there is a lack of airspeed.
- Hence assisted take off flights or rockets are needed to or accelerate it to a supersonic speed from which it starts producing thrust.
- This makes ramjet engine to be efficient only at supersonic speeds as it can accelerate to speeds of about Mach 6.
- Ramjet has revolutionized Rocket Propulsion and Missile Technology over the years.
How different is Scramjet?
- The Scramjet or the Supersonic Combustion Ramjet is a further complex model and is efficient at hypersonic speeds, usually upwards of Mach 6.
- They do not have any moving parts to compress the air as the air entering is already at high pressure.
- Scramjets have a very similar working to that of the ramjet except the fact that combustion also takes place at supersonic speed.
- This means that the air being compressed does not slow down as it enters the combustion chamber.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Trisonic Wind Tunnel
Mains level: Not Much
The new trisonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) was inaugurated by conducting the first blow-down test successfully.
What is a Wind Tunnel?
- Wind tunnels are large tubes with air moving inside.
- The tunnels are used to copy the actions of an object in flight.
- Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft will fly.
- Space agencies uses wind tunnels to test scale models of aircraft and spacecraft. Some wind tunnels are big enough to hold full-size versions of vehicles.
- The wind tunnel moves air around an object, making it seem like the object is really flying.
How do Wind Tunnels work?
- Most of the time, powerful fans move air through the tube.
- The object to be tested is fastened in the tunnel so that it will not move.
- The object can be a small model of a vehicle. It can be just a piece of a vehicle.
- It can be a full-size aircraft or spacecraft. It can even be a common object like a tennis ball.
- Smoke or dye can be placed in the air and can be seen as it moves. Threads can be attached to the object to show how the air is moving.
- Special instruments are often used to measure the force of the air on the object.
About Trisonic Wind Tunnel at VSCC
- ‘Trisonic’ refers to the tunnel’s capability to test in three speed regimes—below the speed of sound (subsonic), at the speed of sound (transonic), and above the speed of sound (supersonic).
- Its parts include air storage vessels, a settling chamber where the airflow is ‘smoothened’ out, and nozzles for releasing the air into the test section.
- It is about 160 metres long and measures 5.4 metres at its widest part.
- In a ‘blow down test’, stored gases are released and blown through the tunnel’s test section, simulating flight conditions.
- The tunnel can simulate flight conditions from 0.2 times the speed of sound (68 metres per second) to four times the speed of sound (1,360 metres per second), according to the space agency.
- Commissioned in 2017, this tunnel can simulate flow speeds up to Mach 12.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Election Deposit
Mains level: Not Much
A political party based in New Delhi lost its election deposit for most of its candidates in the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Do you know?
In the first Lok Sabha elections in 1951-52, almost 40 per cent of the total candidates lost their deposits. Nearly 86 per cent of the candidates contesting Lok Sabha elections in 2019 lost deposits, according to a report released by the Election Commission of India.
What is an Election Security Deposit?
- An election security deposit is an amount that is to be deposited with the Returning Officer when a candidate files their nomination.
- This is to be submitted either in cash, or a receipt must be enclosed with the nomination paper.
- It mentions that the said sum has been deposited on the candidate’s behalf in the Reserve Bank of India or in a Government Treasury.
- The main purpose of this practice is to ensure that only genuinely intending candidates end up filing the nomination to be a part of the electoral process.
Is the amount same for all elections?
- No, it depends on the particular election being conducted, and the Representation of the People Act of 1951 mentions different amounts depending on the level of election:
- In the case of an election from a Parliamentary constituency, meaning a Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seat, the amount is Rs 25,000 and Rs 12,500 for a Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate.
- In the case of an election from an Assembly or Council constituency, meaning at the level of legislative bodies in the states, it is Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 for an SC/ST candidate.
- Even in the case of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, a deposit of Rs 15,000 is to be made.
Losing the deposits
- As per the same Act, the deposit has to be forfeited at an election if the number of valid votes polled by the candidate is less than 1/6th of the total number of valid votes polled.
- Or, in the case of the election of more than one member, it would be 1/6th of the total number of valid votes so polled divided by the number of members to be elected.
- This refers to elections by proportional representation method, as is the case in Rajya Sabha.
- If the candidate does meet the threshold, “the deposit shall be returned as soon as practicable after the result of the election is declared.”
- If a candidate withdraws their nomination or passes away before the polls, the amount is returned.
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