Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Missions on Venus
Mains level: Planetory exploration
NASA has selected two missions to the planet Venus, Earth’s nearest neighbor. The missions are called DAVINCI+ and VERITAS.
DAVINCI+ and VERITAS
(1) DAVINCI+
- DAVINCI+ is short for ‘Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging’ and is the first US-led mission to the planet’s atmosphere since 1978.
- It will try to understand Venus’ composition to see how the planet formed and evolved.
- This mission also consists of a decent sphere that will pass through the planet’s thick atmosphere and make observations and take measurements of noble gases and other elements.
- Significantly, this mission will also try to return the first high-resolution photographs of a geological feature that is unique to Venus.
- This feature, which is called “tesserae” may be comparable to Earth’s continents.
- The presence of tesseraes may suggest that Venus has tectonic plates like Earth.
(2) VERITAS
- The second mission called VERITAS is short for ‘Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy’.
- It will map the planet’s surface to determine its geologic history and understand the reasons why it developed so differently from Earth.
- VERITAS will orbit Venus with a radar that will help to create a 3D reconstruction of its topography which might be able to tell scientists if processes such as plate tectonics and volcanism are still active there.
- This mission will also map the emissions from Venus’s surface that may help in determining the type of rocks that exist on Venus–a piece of information that is not exactly known yet.
- It will also determine if active volcanoes are releasing water vapor into the atmosphere.
Why study Venus?
- The results from DAVINCI+ are expected to reshape the understanding of terrestrial planet formation in the solar system and beyond.
- Taken together, both missions are expected to tell scientists more about the planet’s thick cloud cover and the volcanoes on its surface.
- Further, scientists speculate about the existence of life on Venus in its distant past and the possibility that life may exist in the top layers of its clouds where temperatures are less extreme.
Have humans visited Venus?
- Because of the planet’s harsh environment, no humans have visited it and even the spacecraft that have been sent to the planet have not survived for a very long time.
- Venus’ high surface temperatures overheat electronics in spacecraft in a short time, so it seems unlikely that a person could survive for long on the Venusian surface.
- So far, spacecraft from several nations have visited the planet.
- The first such spacecraft was the Soviet Union’s Venera series (the spacecraft, however, could not survive for long because of the planet’s harsh conditions).
- It was followed by NASA’s Magellan Mission that studied Venus from 1990-1994. As of now, Japan’s Akatsuki mission is studying the planet from Orbit.
Back2Basics: Venus
- For those on Earth, Venus is the second-brightest object in the sky after the moon.
- It appears bright because of its thick cloud cover that reflects and scatters light.
- Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes. Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes.
Some unknown facts
- While Venus, which is the second closest planet to the Sun, is called the Earth’s twin because of their similar sizes, the two planets have significant differences between them.
- For one, the planet’s thick atmosphere traps heat and is the reason that it is the hottest planet in the solar system, despite coming after Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.
- Further, Venus moves forward on its orbit around the Sun but spins backwards around its axis slowly.
- This means on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the East.
- One day on Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days because of its backward spinning, opposite to that of the Earth’s and most other planets.
- Venus also does not have a moon and no rings.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Artificial Sun
Mains level: Concept behind artificial sun
China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which mimics the energy generation process of the sun, set a new record.
What is China’s ‘artificial sun’ EAST?
- The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor is an advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device.
- The purpose of the artificial sun is to replicate the process of nuclear fusion, which is the same reaction that powers the sun.
- The EAST is one of three major domestic tokamaks that are presently being operated across the country.
- Apart from the EAST, China is currently operating the HL-2A reactor as well as J-TEXT.
- Since it first became operational in 2006, the EAST has set several records for the duration of confinement of exceedingly hot plasma.
- The EAST project is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will become the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor when it becomes operational in 2035.
- The project includes the contributions of several countries, including India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States.
How does the ‘artificial sun’ EAST work?
- The EAST Tokamak device is designed to replicate the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun and stars.
- Nuclear fusion is a process through which high levels of energy are produced without generating large quantities of waste.
- Previously, energy was produced through nuclear fission — a process in which the nucleus of a heavy atom was split into two or more nuclei of lighter atoms.
Fission vs. Fusion
- While fission is an easier process to carry out, it generates far more nuclear waste.
- Unlike fission, fusion also does not emit greenhouse gases and is considered a safer process with a lower risk of accidents.
- Once mastered, nuclear fusion could potentially provide unlimited clean energy and very low costs.
But what is Fusion?
- For nuclear fusion to occur, tremendous heat and pressure are applied on hydrogen atoms so that they fuse together. `
- The nuclei of deuterium and tritium — both found in hydrogen — are made to fuse together to create a helium nucleus, a neutron along with a whole lot of energy.
- Fuel is heated to temperatures of over 150 million degrees C so that it forms a hot plasma “soup” of subatomic particles.
- With the help of a strong magnetic field, the plasma is kept away from the walls of the reactor to ensure it does not cool down and lose its potential to generate large amounts of energy.
- The plasma is confined for long durations for fusion to take place.
What is the latest record and why does it matter?
- The EAST reactor set a new record on Friday when it achieved a plasma temperature of 216 million degrees Fahrenheit and also managed to run for 20 seconds at 288 million degrees Fahrenheit.
- To put this in perspective, the sun’s core only reaches about 15 million degrees Celsius, which means the reactor was able to touch temperatures that are 10 times hotter than that.
- The next goal for the scientists behind the experimental reactor is to maintain the high temperature for a long period of time. Previously, the EAST had reached a record temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius in 2018.
China is not the only
- But China is not the only country that has achieved high plasma temperatures.
- In 2020, South Korea’s KSTAR reactor set a new record by maintaining a plasma temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Onset of Monsoon, ITCZ, etc.
Mains level: Factors that influence the onset of south-west monsoons, Indian Monsoon
- The monsoon’s arrival over Kerala has been delayed to June 3, according to an update by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
- Private weather forecast agency, Skymet, however, said that the monsoon had arrived.
- This was because two of the three criteria — as defined by the IMD — had been met.
- Currently, IMD’s own data indicated that except for the OLR, the other criteria were met. Thus, there is an element of subjectivity in arrival.
What are those criterias defined by IMD?
- Rain-bearing westerlies being at a minimum depth and speed;
- At least 60% of the available 14 stations in Kerala and coastal Karnataka, reporting rainfall of 2.5 mm or more for two consecutive days after May 10;
- A certain degree of clouding, indicated by a parameter called ‘outgoing long wave radiation’ (OLR), being below 200 W/square meter.
What is meant by ‘Outgoing Long Wave Radiation’ (OLR)?
- Outgoing Long-wave Radiation (OLR) is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths from 3–100 μm emitted from Earth and its atmosphere out to space in the form of thermal radiation.
- It is also referred to as up-welling long-wave radiation and terrestrial long-wave flux, among others.
- The flux of energy transported by outgoing long-wave radiation is measured in W/m.
- In the Earth’s climate system, long-wave radiation involves processes of absorption, scattering, and emissions from atmospheric gases, aerosols, clouds and the surface.
- Over 99% of outgoing long-wave radiation has wavelengths between 4 μm and 100 μm, in the thermal infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Factors responsible for south-west monsoon formation:
- Intense heating of Tibetan plateau during summer months.
- Permanent high pressure cell in the South Indian Ocean (east to north-east of Madagascar in summer).
Factors that influence the onset of south-west monsoons:
- Above points +
- Subtropical Jet Stream (STJ).
- Tropical Easterly Jet (African Easterly Jet).
- Inter Tropical Convergence Zone.
Factors that influence the intensity of south-west monsoons:
- Strengths of Low pressure over Tibet and high pressure over southern Indian Ocean.
- Somali Jet (Findlater Jet).
- Somali Current (Findlater Current).
- Indian Ocean branch of Walker Cell.
- Indian Ocean Dipole.
Factors responsible for north-east monsoon formation:
- Formation and strengthening of high pressure cells over Tibetan plateau and Siberian Plateau in winter.
- Westward migration and subsequent weakening of high pressure cell in the Southern Indian Ocean.
- Migration of ITCZ to the south of India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Broadcasting Foundation
Mains level: Self regulation by electronic media
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, is expanding its purview to cover digital streaming platforms and will be renamed the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).
Why such a move?
- The move would bring broadcasters and OTT (over-the-top) platforms, which have seen a substantial jump in their viewership base after the pandemic, under one roof.
- For this, the IBDF was in the process of forming a new wholly-owned subsidiary to handle all matters of digital media, an official statement said.
- The IBDF would also form a self-regulatory body, the Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC), for digital OTT platforms.
Indian Broadcasting Foundation
- The IBF is a unified representative body of television broadcasters in India.
- The organization was founded in the year 1999. Over 250 Indian television channels are associated with it.
- The organization is credited as the spokesman of the Indian Broadcasting Industry.
- The IBF is the parent organization of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) which was set up in the year 2011.
- The BCCC examines content-related complaints relating to all non-news general entertainment channels in India.
Note: The IBF has no statutory backing.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Golden visa scheme
Mains level: Not Much
A Bollywood actor has recently received a golden visa from the UAE government.
What is the Golden Visa?
- The Golden Visa system essentially offers long-term residency (5 and 10 years) to people belonging to the following groups: investors, entrepreneurs, individuals with outstanding talents the likes of researchers, medical professionals and those within the scientific and knowledge fields, and remarkable students.
- The main benefit of the visa will be security.
- The UAE government has made it clear that they are committed to providing expatriates, investors and essentially everyone looking to make the UAE their home an extra reason to feel secure about their future.
Who are eligible to apply?
- For the 10-year visa, investors having no less than AED (Dirham) 10 million worth of public investment, either in the form of an investment fund or a company, can apply.
- However, at least 60 per cent of the total investment must not be in the form of real estate and the invested amount must not be loaned, or in case of assets, investors must assume full ownership.
- The investor must be able to retain the investment for a minimum of three years as well.
- The long-term visa can also include the holder’s spouse and children, as well as one executive director and one advisor.
- In addition to the aforementioned, foreign nationals who are looking to set up their business in the UAE may also apply for permanent residency (5 years) through the Golden Business Visa scheme.
Perks for the talent
- Besides entrepreneurs, individuals with specialized talent can also apply for the visa. They include doctors, researchers, scientists, investors and artists.
- These individuals may be granted a 10-year visa following accreditations granted by their respective departments and fields and the visa will also be extended to their spouses and children.
- Exceptional high school and university students are eligible for a 5-year residency visa in the UAE.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Smallpox vaccination in colonial India
Mains level: Not Much
A 19th-century portrait of three women from Mysore has been going viral as “one of the most important scientific pictures in the history of medicine in India”.
What did the portrait depict?
- Believed to be painted in 1805 by Irish-born artist Thomas Hickey, the oil on canvas was initially thought to be portraits of “dancing girls or courtesans”.
- The painting depicted one of the first vaccine drives in India, with bejewelled women from the Wadiyar dynasty posing for Hickey.
- The canvas was commissioned to promote participation in the smallpox vaccination programme and the women posing with the scars.
What is smallpox?
- Smallpox is an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus, a member of the orthopoxvirus family.
- It was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity and caused millions of deaths before it was eradicated.
- It is believed to have existed for at least 3000 years.
How and when did the smallpox vaccine reach India?
- The smallpox vaccine, discovered by Edward Jenner in 1796, was the first successful vaccine to be developed.
- On June 14, 1802, Anna Dusthall, an Anglo-Indian toddler, was the first person in India to be successfully vaccinated against the virus that relied on the cowpox virus, “a mild cousin of smallpox” to trigger immunity.
- The “vaccine vesicle” that came on the arm of the receiver was a source of lymphatic fluid or pus that would act as a vaccine, leading to an arm-to-arm immunisation chain.
- The vaccine subsequently travelled to different parts of India, including Hyderabad, Cochin, Madras and Mysore.
How was the drive carried out?
- While the lymph was at times reportedly dried and sealed between glass plates to be transported, it often did not survive long journeys, due to which the British had to primarily rely on a human chain.
- There was also opposition from the domestic population on the introduction of the cowpox virus and also because some believed the goddess of smallpox would be angered by the vaccination.
- With Tipu Sultan defeated in Mysore, and the reinstatement of the Wadiyars, the East India Company was trying to strengthen its position in South India.
- It protected the ex-pat population from an epidemic, making vaccination essential.
- Queen Lakshmi Ammanni, who had lost her husband to smallpox, supported their cause and wanted to vaccine her population against the deadly virus.
- The painting was supposed to encourage participation in the vaccination drive.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mekedatu Project
Mains level: Cauvery Water Dispute
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Zone has appointed a joint committee to look into allegations of unauthorized construction activity taking place in Mekedatu, where the Karnataka government had proposed to construct a dam across the Cauvery River.
What is the Mekedatu Project?
- Mekedatu, meaning goat’s leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and Arkavathi, about 100 km from Bengaluru, at the Kanakapura taluk in Karnataka’s Ramanagara district.
- In 2013, then Karnataka announced the construction of a multi-purpose balancing reservoir project.
- The project aimed to alleviate the drinking water problems of Bengaluru and Ramanagara district.
- It was also expected to generate hydro-electricity to meet the power needs of the state.
Issues with the project
- Soon after the project was announced TN has objected over granting of permission or environmental clearance.
- Explaining the potential for damage to the lower riparian state of TN, it said that the project was in violation of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
- It stated that the project will affect the natural flow of the river Cauvery considerably and will severely affect the irrigation in TN.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lunar Eclipse
Mains level: Not Much
The Moon will have the nearest approach to Earth on May 26, and therefore will appear to be the closest and largest Full Moon or “supermoon” of 2021.
Tap here to read more about Solar and Lunar Eclipses
What is a Supermoon?
- A supermoon occurs when the Moon’s orbit is closest to the Earth at the same time that the Moon is full.
- As the Moon orbits the Earth, there is a point of time when the distance between the two is the least (called the perigee when the average distance is about 360,000 km from the Earth).
- Also, there is a point of time when the distance is the most (called the apogee when the distance is about 405,000 km from the Earth).
- Now, when a full moon appears at the point when the distance between the Earth and the Moon is the least, not only does it appear to be brighter but it is also larger than a regular full moon.
- According to NASA, the term supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979.
- In a typical year, there may be two to four full supermoons and two to four new supermoons in a row.
What is happening today?
- Two celestial events will take place at the same time.
- One is the supermoon and the other is a total lunar eclipse, which is when the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides of the Earth.
- Because of the total lunar eclipse, the moon will also appear to be red.
- This is because the Earth will block some of the light from the Sun from reaching the moon.
- The Earth’s atmosphere filters the light, it will soften “the edge of our planet’s shadow” “giving the Moon a deep, rosy glow.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: Formation of stars
Indian scientists have estimated the three-dimensional distribution of molecular and atomic hydrogen in a nearby galaxy which can help lead to clues to the star formation processes and the evolution of the galaxy.
Study on Hydrogen distribution
- Galaxies like the one we reside in, the Milky Way, consist of discs containing stars, molecular and atomic hydrogen, and helium.
- The molecular hydrogen gas collapses on itself in distinct pockets, forming stars, its temperature was found to be low –close to 10 kelvin, or -263 ºC, and thickness is about 60 to 240 light-years.
- The atomic hydrogen extends both above and below the discs.
- Indian scientists have estimated that molecular hydrogen extends farther from the disc in both directions, up to about 3000 light-years.
- This gaseous component is warmer than the one straddling the disc and has comparatively lesser densities, thus escaping earlier observations.
- They called it the ‘diffuse’ component of the molecular disc.
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Q. Which one of the following sets of elements was primarily responsible for the origin of life on the Earth?
(a) Hydrogen, Oxygen, Sodium
(b) Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen
(c) Oxygen, Calcium, Phosphorous
(d) Carbon, Hydrogen, Potassium
Why does this study matter?
- The molecular hydrogen gas converts to individual stars under the pull of gravity, thus holding clues to the star formation processes and the evolution of the galaxy.
- If a significant part of the gas extends beyond the thin disc of a few hundred light-years, it may explain why astronomers also observe stars at a few thousand light-years perpendicular to the galactic disc.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Deep Sea Faunal Diversity in India
Mains level: Not Much
India is home to 4,371 species of deep-sea fauna, including 1,032 species under the kingdom Protista and 3,339 species under the kingdom Animalia, a recent publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has revealed.
Highlights of the Survey
- India is surrounded by the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, and the Laccadive Sea (Lakshadweep Sea).
- Of the 4,371 species, a maximum of 2,766 species has been reported from deep-sea areas of the Arabian Sea, followed by 1,964 species from the Bay of Bengal, 1,396 species from the Andaman Sea, and only 253 species from the Laccadive Sea.
RIMS ship investigator
- India is one of the countries that made a pioneering exploration in the deep Indian Ocean region in 1874 by commissioning a RIMS (Royal Indian Marine Survey) ship investigator.
- This conducted enormous studies in seas around India and continued to work till 1926.
Components of the exploration
- The deep-sea ecosystem was the most unexplored ecosystem across the world. It included hydrothermal vents, submarine canyons, deep-sea trenches, seamounts, cold seeps, and mud volcanoes.
- This publication, the first of its kind, provides baseline information on all groups of fauna and biological organisms in the Indian deep seas.
- Not only will this support our knowledge on conserving and managing deep-sea faunal resources, but it will also pave way for their sustainable utilization.
Key findings
(1) Mammals
- There are 31 species of sea mammals that are found in the deep-sea ecosystem of Indian waters, including the Critically Endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin.
- Two other species, the Indo-Pacific Finless Porpoise and the Sperm Whale are recorded as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN classification.
- The list of mammals includes Cuvier’s Beaked Whale and Short-beaked Common Dolphin, which dive as deep as 8,000 meters below the Earth’s surface.
(2) Marine turtles
- Out of the seven species of marine turtles found across the world, five species have been recorded from Indian waters.
- India is known as one of the best and largest breeding grounds for sea turtles, especially for Olive Ridley and Leatherback Turtles, across the world.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 17+ 1 Forum
Mains level: Not Much
Lithuania has decided to quit China’s 17+1 cooperation forum with central and eastern European states that include other EU members, calling it “divisive”.
About 17+ 1 Forum
- The forum is an abbreviation for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries.
- It is an initiative by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote business and investment relations between China and 16 countries of CEE (CEEC).
- The countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
- The format was founded in 2012 in Warsaw to push for the cooperation of the “17+1” (the 17 CEE countries and China).
- Its goals are to promote the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and enhance cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, transportation, and logistics, trade and investment”.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG)
Mains level: Not Much
In early March, members of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG), an advisory group to the Central government, warned of a new and contagious form of the novel coronavirus.
What is INSACOG?
- INSACOG is a consortium of 10 labs across the country tasked with scanning COVID-19 samples from swathes of patients and flagging the presence of variants that were known to have spiked transmission internationally.
- It has also been tasked with checking whether certain combinations of mutations were becoming more widespread in India.
- Some of these labs had begun scanning for mutations in April 2020 itself, but it was not a pan-India effort.
- The institutes involved were laboratories of the Department of Biotechnology, the CSIR, the ICMR, and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW).
- The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the MoHFW was tasked with coordinating the collection of samples from the States as well correlating disease with the mutations.
- The work began in January by sequencing samples of people who had a history of travel from the United Kingdom and a proportion of positive samples in the community.
What are the findings?
- The “foreign” variants identified were primarily the B.1.1.7 (first identified in the United Kingdom) and the B.1.351 (first found in South Africa) and a small number of P2 variants (from Brazil).
- However, some labs flagged the growing presence of variants identified in India that were clubbed into a family of inter-related variants called B.1.617, also known as the ‘double mutant’ variant.
- It was primarily due to two mutations — E484Q and L452R — on the spike protein.
- The B.1.617 family was marked as an international ‘variant of concern’ after it was linked to a recent spike in cases in the UK.
- INSACOG labs also found that the B.1.1.7 variant, which is marked by increased infectivity, is distinctly more prevalent in several northern and central Indian States in comparison to southern States.
Beyond identifying patterns, why is genome sequencing useful?
- The purpose of genome sequencing is to understand the role of certain mutations in increasing the virus’s infectivity.
- Some mutations have also been linked to immune escape, or the virus’s ability to evade antibodies, and this has consequences for vaccines.
- Labs across the world, including many in India, have been studying if the vaccines developed so far are effective against such mutant strains of the virus.
- They do this by extracting the virus from COVID-19-positive samples and growing enough of it. Then, blood serum from people who are vaccinated, and thereby have antibodies, is drawn.
- Using different probes, scientists determine how much of the antibodies thus extracted are required to kill a portion of the cultured virus.
- In general, the antibodies generated after vaccination — and this was true of Covaxin, Covishield, Pfizer and Moderna jabs — were able to neutralize variants.
- Antibody levels are not the only markers of protection and there is a parallel network of cellular immunity that plays a critical role in how vaccines activate immunity.
- The current evidence for most COVID-19 vaccines is that they have almost 75% to 90% efficacy in protecting against disease but less so in preventing re-infection and transmission.
Challenges faced by INSACOG
- Given that the novel coronavirus is spreading, mutating, and showing geographical variations, the aim of the group was to sequence at least 5% of the samples.
- For many reasons, this has so far been only around 1%, primarily due to a shortage of funds and insufficient reagents and tools necessary to scale up the process.
- While some of these issues, the INSACOG, in spite of being peopled by expert scientists, is ultimately an advisory group to the Central government and part of its communication structure.
- Warnings about emerging variants were not made public with sufficient urgency and the sharing of datasets, even within constituent groups of the INSACOG, was less than ideal.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SUnderlal Bahuguna
Mains level: Various conservation movements in India
Veteran environmentalist and architect of the Chipko Movement Sundarlal Bahuguna, 94 has succumbed to COVID.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.In India, the problem of soil erosion is associated with which of the following?
- Terrace cultivation
- Deforestation
- Tropical climate
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Sunderlal Bahuguna
- Bahuguna was one of the leaders of the Chipko movement, fighting for the preservation of forests in the Himalayas.
- Chipko means ‘embrace’ or ‘tree huggers’ and this vast movement was a decentralized one with many leaders usually being village women.
- Often, they would chain themselves to trees so that loggers could not cut down forests.
- These actions slowed down the destruction, but more importantly, they brought deforestation to the public’s attention.
His contributions
- From 1981-1983, Sundarlal Bahuguna led a 5,000-kilometre march across the Himalayas, ending with a meeting with late PM Indira Gandhi, to protect some areas of the Himalayan forests from tree-felling.
- Sundarlal Bahuguna was also a leader in the movement to oppose the Tehri dam project and in defending India’s rivers.
- He also worked for women’s rights and the rights of the poor.
- His methods were Gandhian, making use of peaceful resistance and non-violence.
- The Chipko Movement received the 1987 Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the Alternative Nobel Prize.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kalashetra, Bharatanatyam
Mains level: Classical dances of India
The Central government has appointed 12 eminent artists and musicians to the board of the prestigious institution.
Kalakshetra Foundation
- It is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music.
- Based in Chennai, India, the academy was founded in January 1936 by Rukmini Devi Arundale and her husband George Arundale.
- Under Arundale’s guidance, the institution achieved national and international recognition for its unique style and perfectionism.
- In January 1994, an Act of the Parliament of India recognized the Kalakshetra Foundation as an “Institute of National Importance.”
Who was Rukmini Devi Arundale?
- Devi (1904 –1986) was an Indian theosophist, dancer, and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, and an activist for animal welfare.
- She was the first woman in Indian history to be nominated a member of the Rajya Sabha.
- The most important revivalist of Bharatanatyam from its original ‘sadhir’ style prevalent amongst the temple dancers, the Devadasis, she also worked for the re-establishment of traditional Indian arts and crafts.
- She espoused the cause of Bharata Natyam which was considered a vulgar art.
- She ‘sanitised’ and removed the inherent eroticism of Sadhir to make it palatable to Victorian British morality and Indian upper-caste elites.
Back2Basics: Bharatanatyam
- Bharatanatyam previously called Sadhir Attam is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu.
- It is one of the oldest classical dance traditions in India.
- It has been nurtured in the temples and courts of southern India since the ancient era.
- It is one of eight forms of dance recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (the others being Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Manipuri, and Sattriya).
- The word Bharata is a mnemonic, consisting of “bha”–”ra”–”ta”.
- According to this belief, bha stands for bhava (feelings, emotions), ra stands for raga (melody, framework for musical notes), and ta stands for tala (rhythm).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EWB system in GST regime
Mains level: GST benefits
GST officers have been armed with real-time data of commercial vehicle movement on highways with the integration of the e-way bill (EWB) system with FasTag and RFID.
Why such a move?
- The integration of e-way bill, RFID, and FASTag will enable tax officers to undertake live vigilance in respect of EWB compliances by businesses and will help curb tax evasion.
- It will aid in preventing revenue leakage by real-time identification of cases of recycling and/or non-generation of EWBs.
What are E-way bills (EWB)?
- Under the GST regime, transporters should carry the eWay Bill when moving goods from one place to another when certain conditions are satisfied.
- EWBs are mandatory for inter-state transportation of goods valued over Rs 50,000 from April 2018, with the exemption to precious items such as gold
- In this system, businesses and transporters have to produce before a GST inspector the e-way bill, if asked.
- On average, 25 lakh goods vehicle movements from more than 800 tolls are reported on a daily basis to the e-way bill system.
Benefits of the move
- Tax officers can now access reports on vehicles that have passed the selected tolls without EWBs in the past few minutes.
- Also, vehicles carrying critical commodities specific to the state and having passed the selected toll can be viewed.
- Any suspicious vehicles and vehicles of EWBs generated by suspicious taxpayer GSTINs, that have passed the selected toll on a near real-time basis, can also be viewed in this report.
- The officers can use these reports while conducting vigilance and make the vigilance activity more effective.
- Also, the officers of the audit and enforcement wing can use these reports to identify fraudulent transactions like bill trading, recycling of EWBs.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
Mains level: Not Much
The US government has decided to waive sanctions on the company behind Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Europe.
Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
- It is a system of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
- It includes two active pipelines running from Vyborg to Lubmin near Greifswald forming the original Nord Stream, and two further pipelines under construction running from Ust-Luga to Lubmin termed Nord Stream 2.
- In Lubmin the lines connect to the OPAL line to Olbernhau on the Czech border and to the NEL line to Rehden near Bremen.
- The first line Nord Stream-1 was laid and inaugurated in 2011 and the second line in 2012.
- At 1,222 km in length, Nord Stream is the longest sub-sea pipeline in the world, surpassing the Langeled pipeline.
US sanctions
- Nord Stream projects have been opposed by the United States as well as by several Central and Eastern European countries because of concerns that the pipelines would increase Russia’s influence in the region.
- The US resistance to Nord Stream 2 is also influenced by the country’s increased production of natural gas, which gives the US economic incentive to resist the Russian supply of gas to the EU, in favour of US shale gas.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GI tags in news
Mains level: Not Much
In a major boost to exports of Geographical Indication (GI) certified products, a consignment of Dahanu Gholvad Sapota from the Palghar district of Maharashtra was shipped to the United Kingdom.
Gholvad Sapota
- GI certification of Ghovad Sapota is held by Maharashtra Rajya Chikoo Utpadak Sangh and the fruit is known for its sweet and unique taste.
- It is believed that the unique taste is derived from the calcium-rich soil of Gholvad village.
- Currently, in the Palgahr district, around 5000 hectares of land is under sapota or plantation.
- Sapota is grown in many states- Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
- Karnataka is known to be the highest grower of the fruit, followed by Maharashtra.
Do you know?
Earlier this month, a consignment of 2.5 Metric Tonne of GI certified Banganapalli & Survarnarekha mangoes sourced from farmers in Krishna & Chittor districts of Andhra Pradesh was exported to South Korea.
Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)
- The World Intellectual Property Organisation defines a GI as “a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin”.
- GIs are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, handicrafts, industrial products, wines and spirit drinks.
- Internationally, GIs are covered as an element of intellectual property rights under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
- They have also covered under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gold Exchange
Mains level: Gold Exchange and its trading
The Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has floated a consultation paper on the proposed framework for Gold Exchange in India.
Why such a move?
- According to SEBI, the proposed exchange would bring in more transparency in the gold trading market in terms of spot price discovery, quality of the gold and enable greater integration with the financial markets.
What is a Gold Exchange?
- As the name suggests, this would offer trading facilities in the precious metal.
- Entities like retail investors, banks, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), jewellers and bullion dealers among others would be allowed to trade on the exchange.
- While there are existing commodity exchanges that offer trading in gold contracts, those are derivative instruments while the proposed gold exchange would allow trading akin to the spot market.
- This move assumes significance as India is the second-largest consumer of gold – after China – with an annual demand of around 800-900 tonnes.
Answer this PYQ:
Q.What is/are the purpose/purposes of the Government’s ‘Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme’ and ‘Gold Monetization Scheme’?
- To bring the idle gold lying with India households into the economy
- To promote FDI in the gold and jewellery sector
- To reduce India’s dependence on gold imports
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
What are the ways in which one can invest in gold now?
- For those wanting to buy physical gold, a visit to the neighbourhood jeweller would suffice.
- Meanwhile, there are online platforms such as Paytm, Kuvera and Indiagold among others that allow an individual to buy gold in digital form.
- The advantage of buying gold in digital form is that one can put in a very small amount as well with some platforms allowing a minimum investment of just Rs 100.
- Digital gold products have become quite popular among millennials. Then there are sovereign gold bonds issued by the government.
- One can even look at Gold ETFs or gold funds by mutual funds.
- Even gold derivative contracts traded on the exchanges have the option of physical settlement, which means investors can get physical delivery of gold.
How can one trade on a gold exchange?
- The SEBI has proposed an instrument called ‘Electronic Gold Receipt’, or EGR.
- The gold exchange, along with intermediaries like the vault manager and the clearing corporation, would facilitate the creation of EGR and its trading.
- So, participants can convert their physical gold into EGR, which can then be bought or sold on the exchange like any normal equity share of a listed company.
- The EGR can even be converted back into physical gold. As part of the draft regulations, SEBI has proposed three denominations of EGR – one kilogram, 100 grams and 50 grams.
- It has, however, added that EGRs of five grams or 10 grams can also be allowed for trading to increase the liquidity of the market and attract more participants.
How can one convert physical gold into EGRs?
- An entity that intends to convert physical gold into EGR will have to go to a ‘Vault Manager’.
- According to the proposed framework, any entity registered in India and with a net worth of at least Rs 50 crore can apply to become a vault manager.
- After the receipt of the gold, the vault manager would create an EGR for which the depository will assign an International Securities Identification Number, or ISIN, which is a unique code to identify the specific security.
- Once the ISIN is issued, the EGR can be traded on the gold exchange just like any other tradable security.
Can EGRs be again converted into physical gold?
- To convert an EGR into physical gold, the owner of the EGR will have to surrender the EGR to the vault manager who will deliver the gold and extinguish the electronic receipt.
- Considering the logistics and delivery challenges, it has been proposed that conversion of an EGR into physical gold should be allowed only if a minimum of 50 grams of gold has been accumulated in electronic form.
Issues with gold exchange
- Since the EGRs would be traded on an exchange, Securities Transaction Tax (STT) would be levied. Also, GST would be applicable when EGRs are converted into physical gold for withdrawal.
- If in case the buyer and seller are from different states then levying state GST could be cumbersome. SEBI is mulling if only IGST or Integrated Goods and Services Tax can be levied to resolve this issue.
- As far as transactions are concerned, SEBI working groups have suggested that an entire transaction be divided into three tranches.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tianwen 1 and various Mars missions
Mains level: Mars mission worldwide and their success
China landed a spacecraft on Mars carrying its first Mars rover in a big boost to its space ambitions.
UPSC may ask an MCQ asking: Which of the following is/are the space missions related to Mars? It may throw up 4-5 options (which we all get confused at after few months) like Cassini , InSight , Messanger, Voyager etc.
Tianwen-1 Mission
- The mission is named after the ancient Chinese poem ‘Questions to Heaven’, the Tianwen-1.
- It is an all-in-one orbiter; lander and rover will search the Martian surface for water, ice, investigate soil characteristics, and study the atmosphere, among completing other objectives.
- It will be the first to place ground-penetrating radar on the Martian surface, which will be able to study local geology, as well as rock, ice, and dirt distribution.
- The lander descended successfully onto the surface of the red planet carrying a rover named Zhurong, named after a god of fire for a planet known in Chinese as the planet of fire.
- Only the Soviet Union and the United States had previously carried out a successful landing on Mars.
Back2Basics: Various missions on Mars
- The USSR in 1971 became the first country to carry out a Mars landing– its ‘Mars 3’ lander being able to transmit data for 20 seconds from the Martian surface before failing.
- The country made it’s second and Mars landing two years later in 1973.
- The second country to reach Mars’s surface, the US, holds the record for the most number of Mars landings.
- Since 1976, it has achieved 8 successful Mars landings, the latest being the ‘InSight’ in 2019 (launched in 2018).
- India and the European Space Agency have been able to place their spacecraft in Mars’s orbit.
- India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or ‘Mangalyaan’ was able to do so in September 2014, almost a year after its launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.
- The Chinese mission now is expected to take off around the same time when NASA is launching its own Mars mission– the ambitious ‘Perseverance’ which aims to collect Martian samples and bring them back.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mucormycosis
Mains level: Post covid hazards
Hospitals across the country have started to report a number of cases of Mucormycosis, an invasive fungal infection affecting patients who have recently recovered from COVID-19.
What is Mucormycosis?
- Mucormycosis is an aggressive and invasive fungal infection caused by a group of moulds called micromycetes.
- It can affect various organs but is currently manifesting as invasive rhino-orbito-cerebral disease, crawling through the sinus and working its way to the brain, affecting the ear, nose, throat, and mouth.
- While it is not contagious, it can cause a lot of damage internally and can be fatal if not detected early.
- It is an old disease; perhaps new and concerning is the sudden increase in the invasive form of the sinus variant, which involves the orbit, and at times the brain, leading to blindness, stroke or death.
What causes the disease?
- Diabetes mellitus is the most common underlying cause, followed by haematological malignancies and solid-organ transplants.
- Diabetes mellitus was reported in 54% to 76% of cases, according to a report.
- What seems to be triggering Mucormycosis in patients post COVID-19 is indiscriminate use of a high dose of steroids in COVID-19 patients, sometimes even in minimally symptomatic patients.
- This leads to spikes in the sugar level among diabetics, which, in turn, renders them vulnerable.
Symptoms
- The symptoms to watch out for are a stuffy nose, bloody, blackish, or brown discharge from the nose etc.
- Other symptoms include blackish discolouration of the skin, swelling or numbness around the cheek, one-sided facial pain, toothache or jaw pain, drooping of the eyelids or eyelid swelling, double vision, redness of eyes, and sudden decrease in vision.
Treatment
- The mainline of treatment is an anti-fungal drug called amphotericin B, which is given over an extended period of time under the strict observation of a physician.
- Rational use of steroids is necessary, and constant monitoring of sugar levels and resorting to insulin use to control these levels if required is essential.
- Surgery to remove the fungus growth might also be warranted.
Preventive measures
- It is important to keep blood sugar levels under control and ensure that appropriate calibration of oral drugs or insulin is done from time to time.
- Further, recognising the symptoms and seeking treatment early if there are two or three symptoms at a time is key.
- Like most illnesses, if detected early, Mucormycosis can be cured.
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