Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sandes
Mains level: Secured instant messaging
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has launched an instant messaging platform called Sandes on the lines of WhatsApp. Open initially only to government officers, it has now been released for the common public as well.
Features of Sandes Platform
- The instant messaging app, called Sandes, has an interface similar to many other apps currently available in the market.
- Like WhatsApp, the new NIC platform can be used for all kinds of communications by anyone with a mobile number or email id.
- Although there is no option to transfer the chat history between two platforms, the chats on government instant messaging systems or GIMS can be backed up to a users’ email.
- It also offers features such as group making, broadcast message, message forwarding and emojis.
- Further, as an additional safety feature, it allows a user to mark a message as confidential, which will allow the recipient to be made aware the message should not be shared with others.
Why need such instant messaging platform?
- Following the nationwide lockdown, the government felt the need to build a platform to ensure secure communication between its employees as they worked from home.
- The idea for a secure communication network dedicated exclusively to government employees has been in the works for the past four years.
- In August 2020, the NIC released the first version of the app, which said that the app could be used by both central and state government officials for intra and inter-organisation communication.
- The app was initially launched for Android users and then the service was extended to iOS users.
Limitations of the app
- The limitation, however, is that the app does not allow the user to change their email id or registered phone number.
- The user will have to re-register as a new user in case they wish to change their registered email id or phone number on the app.
Do you remember?
[Burning Issue] WhatsApp Snooping
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MapmyIndia, Various tools of ISRO
Mains level: Geospatial data and its utilization
The ISRO has joined hands with MapmyIndia to combine their geospatial expertise and build holistic solutions by leveraging their geoportals.
Note various geo-spatial solutions of ISRO mentioned in the newscard.
What is the Project?
- It combines the power of MapmyIndia’s digital maps and technologies with ISRO’s catalogue of satellite imagery and earth observation data.
- Indian users would not be dependent on foreign organisations for maps, navigation and geospatial services, and leverage made-in-India solutions instead.
Various components
The collaboration will enable them to jointly identify and build holistic geospatial solutions utilising the ISRO’s earth observation datasets such as-
- IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) called NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation, is India’s own navigation system, developed by ISRO.
- Bhuvan is the national geo-portal developed and hosted by ISRO comprising geospatial data, services and tools for analysis.
- VEDAS (Visualization of Earth observation Data and Archival System) is an online geo-processing platform using an optical, microwave, thermal and hyperspectral EO data covering applications particularly meant for academia, research and problem solving, according to ISRO.
- MOSDAC (Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre)is a data repository for all the meteorological missions of ISRO and deals with weather-related information, oceanography and tropical water cycles.
About MapmyIndia
- MapmyIndia is an Indian technology company that builds digital map data, telematics services, location-based SaaS (Software as a service) and GIS AI services.
- The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered at New Delhi with regional offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru and smaller offices across India.
- Its map covers all 7.5 lakh villages, 7500+ cities at street and building-level, connected by all 63 lakh kilometres of road network pan India and within cities, in total providing maps for an unparalleled 3+ crore places across India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mechanophotonics, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
Mains level: Not Much
Crystals are normally rigid, stiff structures, but researchers from the University of Hyderabad have shown how crystals can be sliced and even bent using atomic force microscopy. They have named this technique as “mechanophotonics”.
The newscard discusses an out of the box technology which if brought to reality in practical use, can create immense disruptions in the technology market.
Manipulating light through crystals
- Manipulating them with precision and control comes in very useful in the field of nanophotonics, a qualitative, emerging field.
- The aim is to go beyond electronics and build-up circuits driven entirely by photons (light).
If the technique can be successfully developed, this can achieve an unprecedented level of miniaturisation and pave the way to all-optical-technology such as pliable, wearable devices operated by light entirely.
What Indian researchers have achieved?
: Bending light path
- Light, when left to itself moves along straight paths, so it is crucial to develop materials and technology that can cause its path to bend along what is required in the circuits.
- This is like using fibre optics, but at the nanoscale level using organic crystals.
- The Hyderabad group has demonstrated how such crystals can be lifted, bent moved, transferred and sliced using atomic force microscopy.
: How?
- Researchers add a crucial piece to the jigsaw puzzle of building an “organic photonic integrated circuit” or OPIC.
- Generally, millimetre- to centimetre-long crystals were bent using hand-held tweezers.
- This method lacks precision and control. Also, the crystals used were larger than what was required for miniaturisation.
- The atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever tip could be used to lift a crystal, as crystals tend to stick to the tip due to tip–crystal attractive forces.
- Thus they demonstrated the real waveguiding character of the crystal lifted with a cantilever tip.
In 2014, for the first time, the group led by Rajadurai Chandrasekar of the Functional Molecular Nano/Micro Solids Laboratory in University of Hyderabad demonstrated that tiny crystals could be lifted and moved with precision and control using atomic force microscopy.
What is Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)?
- AFMs are a type of electron microscope used for the observation at an atomic level.
- It is commonly used in nanotechnology.
- The AFM works by employing an ultra-fine needle attached to a beam.
- The tip of the needle runs over the ridges and valleys in the material being imaged, “feeling” the surface.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: nORF
Mains level: Not Much
A team from the University of Cambridge set out to find whether new genes emerge in the genome of living organisms and if they do, how they do so. They have now catalogued 1,94,000 novel regions.
Genes/Genomes/DNA/RNA is all-time favourite of UPSC. You can easily find 1-2 questions every year since 2017 in Prelims.
Novel genomic regions
- The ‘novel’ genomic regions cannot be defined by our current ‘definition’ of a gene.
- Hence, researchers call these novel regions – novel Open Reading Frames or as nORFs.
- Researchers found that the mutations in nORFs do have physiological consequences and a majority of mutations that are often annotated as benign have to be re-interpreted.
What novel did the researchers find?
- nORF regions were uniquely present in the cancer tissues and not present in the control tissue.
- They found that some nORF disruptions strongly correlated with the survival of patients.
- nORFs proteins can form structures, can undergo biochemical regulation like known proteins and be targeted by drugs in case they are disrupted in diseases.
- The researchers also identified these nORFs in Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite which causes the deadliest form of malaria.
Connected to disease
- The research found that these regions are also broadly involved in diseases.
- The nORFs were seen as dysregulated in 22 cancer types.
- Dysregulated is a term which means that they could either be mutated, upregulated, or downregulated, or they could be uniquely present.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Malwares
Mains level: Cyber attacks and the treats posed to national security
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.The terms ‘WannaCry, Petya, Eternal Blue’ sometimes mentioned news recently are related to
(a) Exoplanets
(b) Crypto currency
(c) Cyber attacks
(d) Mini satellites
What is NetWire?
- NetWire, which first surfaced in 2012, is a well-known malware.
- It is also one of the most active ones around.
- It is a remote access Trojan, or RAT, which gives control of the infected system to an attacker. Such malware can log keystrokes and compromise passwords.
Threats posed
- This malware essentially does two things:
- One is data exfiltration, which means stealing data. Most anti-virus software is equipped to prevent this.
- The other involves infiltrating a system, and this has proven to be far more challenging for anti-virus software.
- NetWire is described as an off-the-shelf malware, while something like Pegasus, which used a bug in WhatsApp to infiltrate users’ phones in 2019, is custom-made and sold to nations.
Back2Basics: Classification of malicious softwares
Viruses
- A computer virus is a type of malware that propagates by inserting a copy of itself into and becoming part of another program.
- It spreads from one computer to another, leaving infections as it travels.
- Viruses can range in severity from causing mildly annoying effects to damaging data or software and causing denial-of-service (DoS) conditions.
- Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus may exist on a system but will not be active or able to spread until a user runs or opens the malicious host file or program.
- When the host code (alternative word for a computer program) is executed, the viral code is executed as well.
Ransomware
- Ransomware is a type of malicious software that threatens to publish the victim’s data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid.
- While some simple ransomware may lock the system in a way that is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, more advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion.
- This encrypts the victim’s files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.
Worms
- Computer worms are similar to viruses in that they replicate functional copies of themselves and can cause the same type of damage.
- In contrast to viruses, which require the spreading of an infected host file, worms are standalone software and do not require a host program or human help to propagate.
- To spread, worms either exploit the vulnerability on the target system or use some kind of social engineering to trick users into executing them.
- A worm enters a computer through a vulnerability in the system and takes advantage of file-transport or information-transport features on the system, allowing it to travel unaided.
- More advanced worms leverage encryption, wipers, and ransomware technologies to harm their targets.
Trojans
- A Trojan is a harmful piece of software that looks legitimate.
- After it is activated, it can achieve any number of attacks on the host, from irritating the user (popping up windows or changing desktops) to damaging the host (deleting files, stealing data, or activating and spreading other malware, such as viruses).
- Trojans are also known to create backdoors to give malicious users access to the system.
- Unlike viruses and worms, Trojans do not reproduce by infecting other files nor do they self-replicate.
- Trojans must spread through user interaction such as opening an email attachment or downloading and running a file from the Internet.
Bots
- “Bot” is derived from the word “robot” and is an automated process that interacts with other network services.
- Bots often automate tasks and provide information or services that would otherwise be conducted by a human being.
- A typical use of bots is to gather information, such as web crawlers, or interact automatically with Instant Messaging (IM), Internet Relay Chat (IRC), or other web interfaces.
- They may also be used to interact dynamically with websites.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dayanand Saraswati
Mains level: Not Much
Information and Broadcasting Minister paid his tributes to Swami Dayanand Saraswati on his birth anniversary.
Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883)
- Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a reform movement of the Vedic dharma.
- He was the first to give the call for Swaraj as “India for Indians” in 1876, a call later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak.
- Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies.
- Subsequently, the philosopher and then President, S. Radhakrishnan called him one of the “makers of Modern India”, as did Sri Aurobindo.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which among the following event happened earliest?
(a) Swami Dayanand established Arya Samaj
(b) Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neeldarpan
(c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Anandmath
(d) Satyendranath Tagore became the first India to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination
His influence
- Those who were influenced by and followed him included Madam Cama, Shyamji Krishna Varma, Kishan Singh, Bhagat Singh, VD Savarkar, Bhai Parmanand, Lala Hardayal, Madan Lal Dhingra, Ram Prasad Bismil, MG Ranade, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, , Lala Lajpat Rai etc.
Philosophy
- He was ascetic from boyhood and a scholar.
- He believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas.
- He advocated the doctrine of Karma and Reincarnation.
- He emphasized the Vedic ideals of Brahmacharya, including celibacy and devotion to God.
His contribution
- Among Dayananda’s contributions were his promoting of the equal rights for women, such as the right to education and reading of Indian scriptures.
- He wrote his commentary on the Vedas from Vedic Sanskrit in Sanskrit as well as in Hindi.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tholpavakkoothu
Mains level: India's puppetry
A shadow leather puppet in Kerala’s famous temple art Tholpavakkoothu is being animated by a robot in Palakkad.
Tholpavakkoothu
- Tholpavakkoothu or shadow puppetry is a temple art form which is prevalent in the Bhagavathy temples (mother Goddess) in Palakkad district and nearby regions in Kerala.
- Tholppava (Thol means leather, Pava means puppet) are moved with the help of strings, and their shadows are depicted on a screen with the help of a row of oil lamps in the background.
- The story of Tholpavakkoothu performance is from the Indian epic, Ramayana.
- In the olden days, it was performed elaborately over a period of forty-one days.
- The narrative used for the performance is a mixture of prose and poetry called Adalpattu.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements:
- It is a song and dance performance.
- Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance.
- It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3.
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1 only
Setup of the art
- Tholppavas are made of the skin of deer and the puppet forms are made by making small holes in the leather that is then attached vertically to a bamboo stick.
- Accompanying instruments include Ezhupara, Chenda and Maddalam.
- The artists have to undergo several years of rigorous training to master this art form.
- The puppetry is staged on a special structure in temple premises called Koothumadam.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dickensonia, Bhimbetka
Mains level: Stone age paintings in India
Researchers have found the first-ever fossil in India of a Dickinsonia —the Earth’s ‘oldest animal’, dating back 570 million years — on the roof of what’s called the ‘Auditorium Cave’ at Bhimbetka.
Dickinsonia
- Dickinsonia is an extinct genus of basal animal that lived during the late Ediacaran period in what is now Australia, Russia and Ukraine.
- The individual Dickinsonia typically resembles a bilaterally symmetrical ribbed oval.
- Its affinities are presently unknown; its mode of growth is consistent with a stem-group bilaterian affinity, though some have suggested that it belongs to the fungi or even an “extinct kingdom”.
- The discovery of cholesterol molecules in fossils of Dickinsonia lends support to the idea that Dickinsonia was an animal.
What are the new findings?
Like the awe-inspiring rock shelters themselves, this fossil was discovered by chance.
- Dickinsonia fossils have shown that they could exceed four feet in length but the one found in Bhimbetka is 17 inches long.
- Eleven feet above the ground, almost blending with the rock and easily mistaken by laymen for prehistoric rock art, they found imprints of the Dickinsonia.
- It is believed to be one of the key links between the early, simple organisms and the explosion of life in the Cambrian Period, about 541 million years ago.
Cambrian Explosion and Dickinsonia
- The ‘Cambrian Explosion’ is the term given to the period of time in history when complex animals and other macroscopic organisms such as molluscs, worms, arthropods and sponges began to dominate the fossil record.
- Researchers from Australian found the Dickinsonia fossil since its tissue contained molecules of cholesterol a type of fat that is the hallmark of animal life.
Do you know?
Cosmogenic nuclide dating is deployed to determine time of earliest human culture. India’s oldest stone-age tools, up to 1.5 million years old, are at a prehistoric site near Chennai.
About Bhimbetka
- The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in central India that spans the prehistoric Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period.
- It exhibits the earliest traces of human life in India and evidence of Stone Age starting at the site in Acheulian times.
- It is located in the Raisen District in Madhya Pradesh about 45 kilometres (28 mi) south-east of Bhopal.
- It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters distributed over 10 km (6.2 mi).
- At least some of the shelters were inhabited more than 100,000 years ago.
- Some of the Bhimbetka rock shelters feature prehistoric cave paintings and the earliest are about 10,000 years old (c. 8,000 BCE), corresponding to the Indian Mesolithic.
- These cave paintings show themes such as animals, early evidence of dance and hunting.
- The Bhimbetka rock shelters were found by V S Wakankar 64 years ago. Since then, thousands of researchers have visited the site, but this rare fossil went undetected.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act
Police have booked several under The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, for the alleged insult of the National Flag in farmers protest on Republic Day.
Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act
- The law, enacted on December 23, 1971, penalizes the desecration of or insult to Indian national symbols, such as the National Flag, the Constitution, the National Anthem, and the Indian map, as well as contempt of the Constitution of India.
- Section 2 of the Act deals with insults to Indian National Flag and Constitution of India.
Do you know?
Article 51 ‘A’ contained in Part IV A i.e. Fundamental Duties asks:
To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem in clause (a).
Other provisions
- Section 3.22 of The Flag Code of India, 2002 deals with laws, practices and conventions that apply to the display of the national flag.
- Section 3.58 says: On occasions of State/Military/Central Paramilitary Forces funerals, the flag shall be draped over the bier or coffin with the saffron towards the head of the bier or coffin.
- The Flag shall not be lowered into the grave or burnt in the pyre.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The national motto of India, ‘Satyameva Jayate’ inscribed below the Emblem of India is taken from:
(a) Katha Upanishad
(b) Chandogya Upanishad
(c) Aitareya Upanishad
(d) Mundaka Upanishad
Use of flag in funerals
- The flag can only be used during a funeral if it is accorded the status of a state funeral.
- Apart from police and armed forces, state funerals are held when people who are holding or have held the office of President, Vice-President, PM, Cabinet Minister, or state CM pass away.
- The status of a state funeral can be accorded in case of death of people not belonging to the armed forces, police or the above-mentioned categories by the state government.
- Then too, the national flag can be used.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Einsteinium
Mains level: Not Much
The University of California has reported some of the properties of element 99 in the periodic table called “Einsteinium”, named after Albert Einstein.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The known forces of nature can be divided into four classes, viz, gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force.
With reference to them, which one of the following statements is not correct? (CSP 2012)
(a) Gravity is the strongest of the four
(b) Electromagnetism act only on particles with an electric charge
(c) Weak nuclear force causes radioactivity
(d) Strong nuclear force holds protons and neutrons inside the nuclear of an atom.
Einsteinium
- It was discovered in 1952 in the debris of the first hydrogen bomb (the detonation of a thermonuclear device called “Ivy Mike” in the Pacific Ocean).
- Since its discovery, scientists have not been able to perform a lot of experiments with it because it is difficult to create and is highly radioactive.
- Therefore, very little is known about this element.
- With this new study published in the journal Nature last week, for the first time researchers have been able to characterize some of the properties of the element.
The discovery of the element
- Ivy Mike was detonated on November 1, 1952, as part of a test at a remote island location called Elugelab on the Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific.
- The blast produced an explosion that was about 500 times more destructive than the explosion that occurred at Nagasaki.
- Subsequently, the fallout material from this explosion was sent to Berkeley in California for analysis which identified over 200 atoms of the new element.
Properties of the element
- Einsteinium has a half-life of 20 days.
- Because of its high radioactivity and short half-life of all einsteinium isotopes, even if the element was present on Earth during its formation, it has most certainly decayed.
- This is the reason that it cannot be found in nature and needs to be manufactured using very precise and intense processes.
- Therefore, so far, the element has been produced in very small quantities and its usage is limited except for the purposes of scientific research.
- The element is also not visible to the naked eye and after it was discovered, it took over nine years to manufacture enough of it so that it could be seen with the naked eye.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hope Mission
Mains level: Mars mission worldwide and their success
The first Arab interplanetary mission is expected to reach Mars’ orbit on February 9 in what is considered the most critical part of the journey to unravel the secrets of weather on the Red Planet.
Try this question from CSP 2014:
Q.Which of the following pair is/are correctly matched?
| Spacecraft |
Purpose |
| 1. Cassini-Huygens |
Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth |
| 2. Messenger |
Mapping and investigating the Mercury |
| 3. Voyager 1 and 2 |
Exploring the outer solar system |
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Hope Mission
- The Emirates Mars Mission called “Hope” was announced in 2015 with the aim of creating mankind’s first integrated model of the Red planet’s atmosphere.
- Hope weighs over 1500 kg and will carry scientific instruments mounted on one side of the spacecraft, including the Emirates exploration Imager (EXI), which is a high-resolution camera among others.
- The spacecraft will orbit Mars to study the Martian atmosphere and its interaction with outer space and solar winds.
- Hope will collect data on Martian climate dynamics, which should help scientists understand why Mars’ atmosphere is decaying into space.
Objectives of the mission
- Once it launches, Hope will orbit Mars for around 200 days, after which it will enter the Red planet’s orbit by 2021, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the founding of UAE.
- The mission is being executed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, UAE’s space agency.
- It will help answer key questions about the global Martian atmosphere and the loss of hydrogen and oxygen gases into space over the span of one Martian year.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Trans fats
Mains level: Health threats posed by Trans Fats
The FSSAI has amended its rules to put a cap on trans fatty acids (TFAs) in food products just weeks after it tightened the norms for oils and fats.
What are the new rules?
- Food products in which edible oils and fats are used as an ingredient shall not contain industrial Trans fatty acids more than 2% by mass of the total oils/fats present in the product, on and from 1st January 2022.
- In December, the FSSAI had capped TFAs in oils and fats to 3% by 2021, and 2% by 2022 from the current levels of 5%.
- The 2% cap is considered to be the elimination of trans fatty acids, which is to be achieved by 2022.
What are Trans Fats?
- Trans fatty acids are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid, increase the shelf life of food items and for use as an adulterant as they are cheap.
- They are present in baked, fried and processed foods as well as adulterated ghee which becomes solid at room temperature.
- They are the most harmful form of fats as they clog arteries and cause hypertension, heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases.
Why need such regulation?
- As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately 5.4 lakh deaths take place each year globally because of intake of industrially-produced trans-fatty acids.
- The WHO has called for the elimination of industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the global food supply by 2023.
- The latest FSSAI rules signal the completion of the process of regulating trans fats in India.
- The move will make a big difference in the health harm caused by this unwanted ingredient.
- This allows FSSAI and the State-level food safety machinery to focus on implementation and enforcement of the WHO recommendations.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Political Parties and their types
Mains level: Political Parties in India
The contribution reports of only 78 (3.39%) of the total 2,301 registered unrecognized political parties are available in the public domain for 2018-19 reports the Association For Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Classification of Political Parties in India
(A) National parties
A registered party is recognised as a national party only if it fulfils any one of the three conditions listed below:
- A party should win 2% of seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three different states.
- At a general election to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly, the party polls 6% of votes in any four or more states and in addition, it wins four Lok Sabha seats.
- A party gets recognition as a state party in four states.
- A party recognised as a National party can be derecognized if it fails to maintain the criteria.
(B) State parties
A party has to fulfil any of the following conditions for recognition as a state party:
- A party should secure at least 6% of valid votes polled in an election to the state legislative assembly and win at least 2 seats in that state assembly.
- A party should secure at least 6% of valid votes polled in an election to Lok Sabha and win at least 1 seat in Lok Sabha.
- A party should win a minimum of three per cent of the total number of seats or a minimum of three seats in the Legislative Assembly, whichever is higher.
- A party should win at least one seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any fraction thereof allotted to that State.
- Under the liberalized criteria, one more clause that it will be eligible for recognition as state party if it secures 8% or more of the total valid votes polled in the state.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Energy Island
Mains level: Energy Island Concept
The Danish government has approved a plan to build an artificial island in the North Sea as part of its effort to switch to green energy.
The Energy Island concept provides an innovative solution for countries like India grappled with the scarcity of land required for RE projects!
What is Energy Island?
- An energy island is based on a platform that serves as a hub for electricity generation from surrounding offshore wind farms.
- The idea is to connect and distribute power between Denmark and neighbouring countries.
What is the Danish project?
- Denmark has already entered into agreements with the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium to begin the joint analysis of connections in the energy island.
- The project is being called the largest construction project to be undertaken in Denmark’s history with an estimated cost of DKK 210 billion.
- In June 2020, the Danish Parliament decided to initiate the construction of two energy islands, which will export power to mainland Denmark and neighbouring countries.
- One of these islands will be located in the North Sea and the second island, called the island of Bornholm, will be located in the Baltic Sea.
- The artificial island will be located about 80 km into the North Sea and the majority of it will be owned by the Danish government.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Government Securities (G-Secs), T-Bills etc
Mains level: Government Securities (G-Secs)
The RBI has said that it would allow retail investors and other small investors direct access to its government securities trading platform.
What are G-Secs?
- These are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money.
- The two key categories are:
- Treasury bills (T-Bills) – short-term instruments which mature in 91 days, 182 days, or 364 days, and
- Dated securities – long-term instruments, which mature anywhere between 5 years and 40 years
Note: T-Bills are issued only by the central government, and the interest on them is determined by market forces.
Why G-Secs?
- Like bank fixed deposits, g-secs are not tax-free.
- They are generally considered the safest form of investment because they are backed by the government. So, the risk of default is almost nil.
- However, they are not completely risk-free, since they are subject to fluctuations in interest rates.
- Bank fixed deposits, on the other hand, are guaranteed only to the extent of Rs 5 lakh by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).
Who can invest in Corporate Bonds and Government Securities?
- Pension Funds: Pension funds can also invest in both corporate bonds and government securities to ensure long-term stability and growth in their investment portfolio. .
- Retail Investors: Retail investors, including individual investors, can invest in both corporate bonds and government securities.
- Insurance Companies: Insurance companies can invest in both corporate bonds and government securities as part of their investment portfolio. The search results indicate that insurance companies often invest in a mix of low-risk and high-yield assets, with government securities providing lower risk and corporate bonds offering higher returns.
Retail investors and G-Secs
- Small investors can invest indirectly in g-secs by buying mutual funds or through certain policies issued by life insurance firms.
- To encourage direct investment, the government and RBI have taken several steps in recent years.
- Retail investors are allowed to place non-competitive bids in auctions of government bonds through their Demat accounts.
- Stock exchanges act as aggregators and facilitators of retail bids.
Try this PYQ:
Consider the following statements:
- The Reserve Bank of India manages and services the Government of India Securities but not any State Government Securities.
- Treasury bills are issued by the Government of India and there are no treasury bills issued by the State Governments.
- Treasury bills offer are issued at a discount from the par value.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 Only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Why the current proposal?
- The g-sec market is dominated by institutional investors such as banks, mutual funds, and insurance companies. These entities trade in lot sizes of Rs 5 crore or more.
- So, there is no liquidity in the secondary market for small investors who would want to trade in smaller lot sizes.
- In other words, there is no easy way for them to exit their investments.
- Thus, currently, direct g-secs trading is not popular among retail investors.
What will the current proposal do?
- The details are not out yet. However, the RBI’s intention is to make the whole process of g-sec trading smoother for small investors.
- By allowing people to open accounts in RBI’s e-kuber system, it is hoping to create a market of small investors who will invest in these instruments.
Why such a move?
- The RBI is the debt manager for the government.
- In the forthcoming financial year, the government plans to borrow Rs 12 lakh crore from the market.
- When the government demands so much money, the price of money (i.e., the interest rate) will move up.
- It is in the government’s and RBI’s interest to bring this down.
- That can only happen by broadening the base of investors and making it easier for them to buy g-secs.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Square Kilometre Array Observatory, Radio Telescopes
Mains level: Not Much
The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) Council held its maiden meeting and approved the establishment of the world’s largest radio telescope.
Note all important telescopes in news and their features. Some of them are – Thirty Meter Telescope, Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, Spitzer, Chandra etc.
SKAO
- It is a new intergovernmental organisation dedicated to radio astronomy and is headquartered in the UK.
- At the moment, organisations from ten countries are a part of the SKAO.
- These include Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK.
What are radio telescopes?
- Unlike optical telescopes, radio telescopes can detect invisible gas and, therefore, they can reveal areas of space that may be obscured by cosmic dust.
- Significantly, since the first radio signals were detected by physicist Karl Jansky in the 1930s, astronomers have used radio telescopes to detect radio waves emitted by different objects in the universe and explore it.
- According to NASA, the field of radio astronomy evolved after World War II and became one of the most important tools for making astronomical observations since.
The Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, which was the second-largest single-dish radio telescope in the world, collapsed in December 2020.
Significance of SKA telescope
- The telescope, proposed to be the largest radio telescope in the world, will be located in Africa and Australia whose operation, maintenance and construction will be overseen by SKAO.
- Some of the questions that scientists hope to address using this telescope include the beginning of the universe, how and when the first stars were born and the life-cycle of a galaxy.
- It would explore the possibility of detecting technologically-active civilizations elsewhere in our galaxy and understanding where gravitational waves come from.
- As per NASA, the telescope will accomplish its scientific goals by measuring neutral hydrogen over cosmic time, accurately timing the signals from pulsars in the Milky Way.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yuddh Abhyas
Mains level: NA
The 16th edition of Indo-U.S. joint military exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ is set to be held in Rajasthan between February 8 and 21.
Yudh Abhyas
- The exercise near the India-Pakistan border aims at enhancing cooperation and interoperability between the two armies and will focus on counter-terrorism operations under the UN mandate.
- The drill comes days after the air forces of India and France held a five-day joint exercise in Rajasthan in January.
- Exercise with U.S. Army is significant in terms of security challenges faced by both the nations in the backdrop of global terrorism.
- The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation between both armies which will also foster the bilateral relations between both nations.
- It reiterates India’s key role as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various ports of Sri Lanka
Mains level: China as deterrent in India's neighbourhood policy
After the strong opposition from within, the Sri Lankan government was forced to revoke a 2019 agreement with India and Japan to develop the strategic East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port.
Map Reading: Note all these major ports and try recalling their sequences in the clockwise and counter-clockwise direction.
What is the news?
- PM Mahinda Rajapaksa made a statement that the operation of the east terminal would be done by Sri Lanka Ports Authority on its own.
- Its cabinet has approved a proposal to develop the West Terminal at the Colombo Port as a PPP with India and Japan, which is seen as a bid to compensate India.
- It is unclear whether India would accept the latest proposal.
What is the Project?
- The tripartite agreement, signed by India, Sri Lanka and Japan, proposes to develop the ECT, which is located at the newly expanded southern part of the Colombo Port.
- The ECT is located 3 km away from the China-backed international financial city, known as Port City, currently being built in Colombo.
- A Chinese company was behind the controversial 2018 Hambantota port project, signed its first contract in the Port City last month.
- It is also on the map of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
India’s reaction
- A few weeks ago EAM S. Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka where he discussed the development of the stalled project.
- India’s first response was that the island nation should not be taking a decision in a unilateral manner on an existing tripartite agreement.
Compensatory offer to India
- After the decision on revoking the 2019 agreement, SL has approved another proposal to develop the west terminal of the Colombo port with Japan and India.
- Commercially, the west terminal offer is better for India as it gives 85% stake for developers of the West Terminal against the 49% in ECT.
Sri Lanka expects India to rethink. Why?
- Indian response to this compensatory offer is unclear since there was no formal communication by SL authorities.
- Geo-politically, west terminal is almost the same India considers the security aspect and the necessity to have a port terminal in Sri Lanka.
- There is no difference between East and West Terminals except for the fact that development of the ECT is partially completed while the development of the West Terminal has to start from scratch.
SL version of the revocation
- Incumbent PM Mahinda Rajapaksa said the pressure was immense on the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to cancel the 2019 agreement.
- The pressure was brewing so much that he was becoming so unpopular among the people.
- As per the agreement signed by the former Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe administration, India and Japan together were to hold 49% stake in ECT.
- What had finally made the government surrender before trade unions were the increasing support of many more sections in the society for the protests against privatization.
The inevitable factor: China
- This move can be easily interpreted as a reaction to Chinese communication to Sri Lanka.
- China has reportedly instigated trade unions and civil societies against this project.
Q.The threat of Chinese presence in South Asia can be tackled more effectively if India changes course in its dealings with its neighbours and becomes more sensitive to their concerns. Critically analyse.
Outcome: Souring of the ties
- For India, the strategic ECT project was important. Even the EAM has visited Colombo in January in this regard.
- Critics of the Sri Lankan government anticipate many national and international impacts surrounding the latest decision on ECT.
- Meantime, internationally an offended India can make life tough for Sri Lanka, isolating the tiny island nation, geo-politically and on the economic front.
- The economic isolation will not help Sri Lanka at a time when the country is taking steps to revive the economy amid a pandemic.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chauri Chaura Incident
Mains level: Mass movements for freedom struggle
PM will inaugurate the centenary Celebrations at Chauri Chaura at Gorakhpur Dist. Uttar Pradesh.
‘Chauri Chaura’ Incident
- The incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province.
- A large group of protesters participating in the Non-Cooperation Movement clashed with police who opened fire.
- In retaliation the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all of its occupants.
- The incident led to the death of three civilians and 22 policemen.
- Mahatma Gandhi, who was strictly against violence, halted the non-co-operation movement on the national level on 12 February 1922, as a direct result of this incident.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Boycott’ adopted as methods of struggle for the first time during the
(a) Agitation against the Partition of Bengal
(b) Home Rule Movement
(c) Non-Cooperation Movement
(d) Visit of the Simon Commission to India
Background
- In the early 1920s, Indians, led by Mahatma Gandhi, were engaged in a nationwide non-cooperation movement.
- Using non-violent methods of civil disobedience known as Satyagraha, protests were organised by the INC to challenge oppressive regulations such as the Rowlatt Act.
Course of the incident
- Two days before the incident, on 2 February 1922, volunteers participating in the Non-cooperation Movement led by a retired Army soldier named Bhagwan Ahir.
- The protest was planned against high food prices and liquor sale in the marketplace.
- Several of the leaders were arrested and put in the lock-up at the Chauri Chaura police station.
- In response to this, a protest against the police was called on 4 February, to be held at the local marketplace.
- Infuriated by the gunfire into their ranks, the crowd set the chowki ablaze, killing all of the Indian policemen and other staff trapped inside.
Aftermath
- Appalled at the outrage, Gandhi went on a five-day fast as penance for what he perceived as his culpability in the bloodshed.
- In reflection, Gandhi felt that he had acted too hastily in encouraging people to revolt against the British Raj without sufficiently emphasizing the importance of non-violence.
- On 12 February 1922, the Indian National Congress halted the Non-co-operation Movement on the national level as a direct result of the Chauri Chaura tragedy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Stardust-1, Biofuels
Mains level: Not Much
Stardust 1.O was recently launched from Maine, the US has become the first commercial space launch powered by biofuel.
UPSC may puzzle you with the following type of MCQ asking:
Q.Which of the following is the unique feature of the Stardust 1.0 Spacecraft recenlty seen in news?
(a) It is propelled by Bio-fuels.
(b) It has the largest payload capacity.
(c) It is re-usable launch vehicle.
(d) All of the above
What is Stardust 1.O?
- Stardust 1.O is a launch vehicle suited for student and budget payloads.
- The rocket is manufactured by bluShift, an aerospace company based in Maine that is developing rockets that are powered by bio-derived fuels.
- The rocket is 20 feet tall and has a mass of roughly 250 kg.
- The rocket can carry a maximum payload mass of 8 kg and during its first launch carried three payloads.
- The payloads included a cubesat prototype built by high-school students, a metal alloy designed to lessen vibrations.
Why such missions are important?
- Such efforts are a part of a growing number of commercial space companies that are working to provide easier and cheaper access to space to laypeople.
- It also makes access to space cost-effective for purposes of academic research, corporate technology development and entrepreneurial ventures among others.
Back2Basics: Biofuel
- Biofuels are obtained from biomass, which can be converted directly into liquid fuels that can be used as transportation fuels.
- The two most common kinds of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel and they both represent the first generation of biofuel technology.
- Ethanol, for instance, is renewable and made from different kinds of plant materials.
- Biodiesel on the other hand is produced by combining alcohol with new and used vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled cooking grease.
Categories of biofuels
Biofuels are generally classified into three categories. They are
- First-generation biofuels – First-generation biofuels are made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology. Common first-generation biofuels include Bioalcohols, Biodiesel, Vegetable oil, Bioethers, Biogas.
- Second-generation biofuels – These are produced from non-food crops, such as cellulosic biofuels and waste biomass (stalks of wheat and corn, and wood). Examples include advanced biofuels like biohydrogen, bioethanol.
- Third-generation biofuels – These are produced from micro-organisms like algae.
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