Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PCV
Mains level: Not Much
Union Health Minister has launched a nationwide expansion of Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
Why such drive?
- Pneumonia was a leading cause of death among children under five, globally and in India.
- Pneumonia caused by pneumococcus is the most common cause of severe pneumonia in children.
- Around 16% of deaths in children occur due to pneumonia in India.
- The nationwide roll-out of PCV will reduce child mortality by around 60%.
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)
- The PCV is a mix of several bacteria of the pneumococci family, which are known to cause pneumonia—hence ‘conjugate’ is included in the name of the vaccine.
- PCV prevents pneumococcal disease. It can protect both children and adults from pneumococcal disease.
- Such conjugate vaccines are made using a combination of two different components.
Pneumonia vs Pneumococcal pneumonia
- Pneumonia is a lung disease.
- Pneumococcal pneumonia, a kind of pneumonia, can infect the upper respiratory tract and can spread to the blood, lungs, middle ear, or nervous system.
- Pneumococcal disease is a name for any infection caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pneumonia or pneumococcus.
- Most people carry pneumococcus in their nose and throat, where the bacteria do not cause any symptoms.
Take this yorker from CSP 2020:
Q.What is the importance of using Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines in India?
- These vaccines are effective against pneumonia as well as meningitis and sepsis.
- Dependence on antibiotics that are not effective against drug-resistant bacteria can be reduced.
- These vaccines have no side effects and cause no allergic reactions.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: China's territorial expansionism
China has recently passed a new land law for the “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”.
Land Border Law: Key Takeaways
- The law states that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China are sacred and inviolable.
- It asks the state to take measures to safeguard territorial integrity and land boundaries and guard against and combat any act that undermines these.
- The state can take measures to strengthen border defence, support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas.
- It seeks to improve public services and infrastructure in such areas, encourage and support people’s life and work there.
Other features
- In effect, this suggests a push to settle civilians in the border areas.
- The law also asks the state to follow the principles of equality, mutual trust, and friendly consultation, handle land border related-affairs with neighbouring countries.
China’s land borders
- China shares its 22,457-km land boundary with 14 countries including India, the third-longest after the borders with Mongolia and Russia.
- Unlike the Indian border, however, China’s borders with these two countries are not disputed.
- The only other country with which China has disputed land borders is Bhutan (477 km).
Why is it significant for India?
- China claims up to 90,000 square kilometres in Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern sector.
- It has illegally occupied 38,000 square kilometres of Aksai Chin in the western sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
- While recent tensions in the western sector have been centred on Ladakh, both sides have lately clashed in Uttarakhand as well.
A signal to India
- The law is not meant specifically for the border with India.
- However, this could create hurdles in the resolution of the 17-month-long military standoff at LAC.
- There is also a clear distinction that PLA will do border management but it will make negotiations a little more difficult.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Khasi Tribe, khatduh
Mains level: Matrilineal society in NE
Matrilineal Meghalaya is set to break the tradition of share of parental property to the khatduh, which means the youngest daughter in the Khasi language.
Matrilineal Society of Meghalaya
- The matrilineal tradition which the Khasi and other subgroups practice in Meghalaya is unique within India.
- Khasi are an ancient tribe said to be the largest surviving matrilineal culture in the world.
- Matrilineal principles among the Khasi are emphasised in myths, legends, and origin narratives.
Their evolution
- Khasi kings embarking on wars left the responsibility of running the family to women and thus their role in society became very deep rooted and respected.
- Reference to Nari Rajya (female kingdom; or land of matriarchy) in the epic Mahabharata likely correlates with the Khasi and Jaintia Hills and Meghalaya’s present-day matrilineal culture.
Property rights
- The youngest daughter of the family, the Ka Khadduh, inherits all ancestral property.
- After marriage, husbands live in the mother-in-law’s home.
- The mother’s surname is taken by children.
- When no daughters are born to a couple, they adopt a daughter and pass their rights to property to her.
- The birth of a girl is celebrated while the birth of a son is simply accepted.
- There is no social stigma attributed to a woman remarrying or giving birth out of wedlock as the “Khasi Social Custom Lineage Act” gives security to them.
- Care of children is the responsibility of mothers or mothers-in-law.
Matrilineal, not matriarchal
- While society is matrilineal, it is not matriarchal. In past monarchies of the state, the son of the youngest sister of the king inherited the throne.
- Even now in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly or village councils or panchayats the representation of women in politics is minimal.
Issues with the system
- Some Khasi men perceive themselves to be accorded a secondary status.
- They have established societies to protect equal rights for men.
- They express that Khasi men don’t have any security, they don’t own land, they don’t run the family business and, at the same time, they are almost good for nothing.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Podu, Shifting cultivation
Mains level: Not Much
The Telangana government has decided to move landless, non-tribal farmers engaged in Podu shifting cultivation inside forests to peripheral areas as it looks to combat deforestation.
What is Shifting Cultivation?
- Shifting cultivation is a form of agriculture or a cultivation system, in which, at any particular point in time, a minority of ‘fields’ are in cultivation and a majority are in various stages of natural re-growth.
- Over time, fields are cultivated for a relatively short time, and allowed to recover, or are fallowed, for a relatively long time.
- Eventually, a previously cultivated field will be cleared of the natural vegetation and planted in crops again.
- Fields in established and stable shifting cultivation systems are cultivated and fallowed cyclically.
- This type of farming is also called jhumming in India.
What is Podu?
- Podu is a traditional system of cultivation used by tribes in India, whereby different areas of jungle forest are cleared by burning each year to provide land for crops.
- The word comes from the Telugu language.
- Podu is a form of shifting agriculture using slash-and-burn methods.
Issue in Telangana
- Shifting cultivation continues to be a predominant agricultural practice in many parts of India, despite state discouragement and multipronged efforts.
- Telangana government has red-flagged encroachment of forests by non-tribals, who are indulging in the practice of shifting agriculture (podu).
- Several political leaders have raised the issues of shifting agriculture and deforestation wherein encroachers clear a portion of land.
- The government now wants to shift out all farmers from the forests to the periphery by allotting lands to them for cultivation.
Impact of the move
- Tribal farmers who have been traditionally cultivating for decades will not be affected by this drive against illegal encroachers.
- The government has, in fact, given land ownership titles to tribals.
- Other encroaching farmers will be shifted out.
Back2Basics: Various shifting cultivation in India
| Type |
Place of practice |
| Jhum |
North-eastern India |
| Vevar and Dahiyaar |
Bundelkhand Region (Madhya Pradesh) |
| Deepa |
Bastar District (Madhya Pradesh) |
| Zara and Erka |
Southern States |
| Batra |
South-eastern Rajasthan |
| Podu |
Andhra Pradesh |
| Kumari |
Hilly Region of the Western Ghats of Kerala |
| Kaman, Vinga and Dhavi |
Odisha |
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Cyber Coordination Centre, CERT-IN
Mains level: Cyber security challenges for India
There are cybersecurity organisations in the country but no central body responsible for safety in the online space said the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC).
National Cyber Coordination Centre
Headed by National Cyber Security Coordinator: Lt. Gen. Rajesh Pant (Retd.)
Objective: To help the country deal with malicious cyber-activities by acting as an Internet traffic monitoring entity that can fend off domestic or international attacks
- The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) is an operational cybersecurity and e-surveillance agency in India.
- It is jurisdictionally under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- It coordinates with multiple security and surveillance agencies as well as with CERT-In of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- Components of the NCCC include a cybercrime prevention strategy, cybercrime investigation training and review of outdated laws.
Functions
- It will be India’s first layer for cyber threat monitoring and all communication with government and private service providers would be through this body only.
- The NCCC will be in virtual contact with the control room of all ISPs to scan traffic within the country, flowing at the point of entry and exit, including the international gateway.
Cyber-security bottlenecks in India
- India has no dedicated Cyber-security regulation and is also not well prepared to deal with cyberwarfare.
- India has formulated the National Cyber Security Policy 2013 which is not yet implemented.
- NCCC has been classified to be a project of the Indian government without a legal framework, which may be counterproductive as it may violate civil liberties and human rights.
- Some have expressed concern that the NCCC could encroach on Indian citizens’ privacy and civil liberties, given the lack of explicit privacy laws in the country.
Back2Basics: Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN)
- CERT-IN is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing. It strengthens the security-related defence of the Indian Internet domain.
- It was formed in 2004 by the Government of India under the Information Technology Act, 2000 Section (70B) under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mullaperiyar Dam
Mains level: Interstate water disputes
The Supreme Court has directed the Supervisory Committee to take an immediate and firm decision on the maximum water level that can be maintained at Mullaperiyar dam amidst torrential rains in Kerala.
What is the news?
- A report by United Nations has stated that the Mullaperiyar dam, situated in a seismically active area, faces the risk of failure.
- Earlier this year, the Supreme Court warned the TN Chief Secretary against the failure to give information on the rule curve for dam which decides the discharge of excess water.
Mullaperiyar Dam
- It is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in Kerala.
- It is located on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District.
- It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached in an agreement to divert water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area.
- It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft).
Operational issue
- The dam is located in Kerala but is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu.
- The catchment area of the Mullaperiyar Dam itself lies entirely in Kerala and thus not an inter-State river.
- In November 2014, the water level hit 142 feet for first time in 35 years.
- The reservoir again hit the maximum limit of 142 feet in August 2018, following incessant rains in the state of Kerala.
- Indeed, the tendency to store water to almost the full level of reservoirs is becoming a norm among water managers across States.
The dispute: Control and safety of the dam
- Supreme court judgment came in February 2006, has allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the level of the dam to 152 ft (46 m) after strengthening it.
- Responding to it, the Mullaperiyar dam was declared an ‘endangered’ scheduled dam by the Kerala Government under the disputed Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006.
- For Tamil Nadu, the Mullaperiyar dam and the diverted Periyar waters act as a lifeline for Theni, Madurai, Sivaganga, Dindigul and Ramnad districts.
- Tamil Nadu has insisted on exercising the unfettered colonial rights to control the dam and its waters, based on the 1886 lease agreement.
Rule of Curve issue
- A rule curve or rule level specifies the storage or empty space to be maintained in a reservoir during different times of the year.
- It decides the fluctuating storage levels in a reservoir.
- The gate opening schedule of a dam is based on the rule curve. It is part of the “core safety” mechanism in a dam.
- The TN government often blames Kerala for delaying the finalization of the rule curve.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: White dwarf
Mains level: Not Much
Using the Hubble Space telescope and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have identified several white dwarfs over the years.
Where is this white dwarf?
- A white dwarf is what stars like the Sun become after they have exhausted their nuclear fuel.
- Near the end of its nuclear burning stage, this type of star expels most of its outer material, creating a planetary nebula.
- Only the hot core of the star remains. This core becomes a very hot white dwarf, with a temperature exceeding 100,000 Kelvin.
- Unless it is accreting matter from a nearby star, the white dwarf cools down over the next billion years or so.
Limits for white dwarf
- White Dwarf is half the size of our Sun and has a surface gravity 100,000 times that of Earth.
- There is a limit on the amount of mass a white dwarf can have.
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar discovered this limit to be 4 times the mass of the Sun. This is appropriately known as the “Chandrasekhar Limit.”
Observing white dwarf
- Many nearby, young white dwarfs have been detected as sources of soft, or lower-energy, X-rays.
- Recently, soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet observations have become a powerful tool in the study the composition and structure of the thin atmosphere of these stars.
What is TESS?
- The researchers observed this phenomenon using Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
- TESS is a space telescope in NASA’s Explorer program, designed to search for extrasolar planets using the transit method.
- The primary mission objective for TESS is to survey the brightest stars near the Earth for transiting exoplanets over a two-year period.
- The TESS project will use an array of wide-field cameras to perform an all-sky survey. It will scan nearby stars for exoplanets.
How does white dwarf ‘switch on and off’?
- In these types of systems, the donor star orbit around the white dwarf keeps feeding the accretion disk.
- As the accretion disk material slowly sinks closer towards the white dwarf it generally becomes brighter.
- It is known that in some systems the donor stars stop feeding the disk.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Floating Rate Bonds
Mains level: Not Much
The Government of India has announced the Sale (Re-issue) of Floating Rate Bonds, 2028’.
What are Bonds?
- Bonds are investment securities where an investor lends money to a company or a government for a set period of time, in exchange for regular interest payments.
- Generally, bonds come with a fixed coupon or interest rate. For example, you can buy a bond of Rs 10,000 with a coupon rate of 5%.
- Once the bond reaches maturity, the bond issuer returns the investor’s money.
- Fixed income is a term often used to describe bonds, since your investment earns fixed payments over the life of the bond.
Why are bonds launched?
- Companies sell bonds to finance ongoing operations, new projects or acquisitions.
- Governments sell bonds for funding purposes, and also to supplement revenue from taxes.
What are Floating Rate Bonds?
- A floating rate bond is a debt instrument that does not have a fixed coupon rate, but its interest rate fluctuates based on the benchmark the bond is drawn.
- Benchmarks are market instruments that influence the overall economy.
- For example, repo rate or reverse repo rate can be set as benchmarks for a floating rate bond.
How do floating rate bonds work?
- Floating rate bonds make up a significant part of the Indian bond market and are majorly issued by the government.
- For example, the RBI issued a floating rate bond in 2020 with interest payable every six months. After six months, the interest rate is re-fixed by the RBI.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hybrid immunity
Mains level: Not Much
A study has shown that a combination of natural infection with a single dose of vaccine provides greater immunity than either natural infection without vaccination or full vaccination in individuals.
What is the new study?
- People without prior infection but fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine showed a decline in neutralising antibodies over a period of three to seven months.
- But the decline was much less in vaccinated people with prior infection.
- People with hybrid immunity had a higher and more durable neutralising antibody response.
- The hybrid immunity offers stronger protection than just infection or full vaccination alone.
What is Hybrid Immunity?
- It is natural immunity from an infection combined with the immunity provided by the vaccine.
- The immunological advantage from hybrid immunity arises mostly from memory B cells.
What are memory B cells?
- In immunology, a memory B cell (MBC) is a type of B lymphocyte that forms part of the adaptive immune system.
- B lymphocytes are the cells of the immune system that make antibodies to invade pathogens like viruses.
- They form memory cells that remember the same pathogen for faster antibody production in future infections.
How do they assist hybrid immunity?
- While the bulk of antibodies after infection or vaccination decline after a short while, the memory B cells get triggered on subsequent infection or vaccination.
- The memory B cells triggered by infection and those triggered by vaccination have different responses to viruses.
- Infection and vaccination expose the spike protein to the immune system in vastly different ways.
- After full vaccination, antibodies produced by natural infection continued to grow in potency and their breadth against variants for a year after infection.
- Unlike after vaccination, the memory B cells formed after natural infection are more likely to make antibodies that block immune-evading variants.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Banni Buffalo, IVF
Mains level: Not Much
With the birth of first IVF calf of a Buffalo breed namely Banni in the country, India’s Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) – IVF work has reached to next level.
Banni Buffalo
- Banni buffaloes are also known as “Kutchi” or “Kundi”.
- The breeding tract includes the Banni area of Kutchchh district of Gujarat.
- The breed is maintained mostly by Maldharis under locally adapted typical extensive production system in its breeding tract.
What makes them unique?
- Banni buffaloes are trained to graze on Banni grassland during night and brought to the villages in the morning for milking.
- This traditional system of buffalo rearing has been adapted to avoid the heat stress and high temperature of the day.
- It has unique qualities of adaptation such as the ability to survive water scarcity conditions, to cover long distances during periods of drought and disease resistance.
Indigenous buffalo breeds in India
| S. No. |
Breed |
Breeding state |
| 1 |
Banni |
Gujarat |
| 2 |
Bargur |
Tamil Nadu |
| 3 |
Bhadawari |
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh |
| 4 |
Chhattisgarhi |
Chhattisgarh |
| 5 |
Chilika |
Odisha |
| 6 |
Gojri |
Himachal Pradesh and Punjab |
| 7 |
Jaffarabadi |
Gujarat |
| 8 |
Kalahandi |
Odisha |
| 9 |
Luit (Swamp) |
Assam |
| 10 |
Marathwadi |
Maharashtra |
| 11 |
Mehsana |
Gujarat |
| 12 |
Murrah |
Haryana and Delhi |
| 13 |
Nagpuri |
Maharashtra |
| 14 |
Nili Ravi |
Punjab |
| 15 |
Pandharpuri |
Maharashtra |
| 16 |
Surti |
Gujarat |
| 17 |
Toda |
Tamil Nadu |
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Back2Basics: In-vitro fertilization (IVF)
- IVF is a type of assisted reproductive technology used for infertility treatment and gestational surrogacy.
- A fertilised egg may be implanted into a surrogate’s uterus, and the resulting child is genetically unrelated to the surrogate.
- Some countries have banned or otherwise regulate the availability of IVF treatment, giving rise to fertility tourism.
- Restrictions on the availability of IVF include costs and age, in order for a woman to carry a healthy pregnancy to term.
- IVF is generally not used until less invasive or expensive options have failed or been determined unlikely to work.
IVF process
- IVF is a process of fertilization where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body, in vitro (“in glass”).
- The process involves monitoring and stimulating a female ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the female ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a liquid in a laboratory.
- After the fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is implanted in the same or another female uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ramappa Temple, UNESCO Heritage sites
Mains level: Ancient temple architecture
The Union Minister for Culture, Tourism has unveiled the UNESCO World Heritage Listing plaque at Ramappa – Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple in Palampet.
Rudreswara Temple
- The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recharla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.
- It is also known as the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.
- The main temple is flanked by the collapsed structures of the Kateshwarayya and Kameshwarayya temples in Palampet, about 220 km from Hyderabad.
- An inscription dates the temple to 1135 Samvat-Saka on the eighth day of Magha (January 12, 1214).
- It is India’s 39th UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Total 40 in number after Dholavira).
Its architecture
- The temple complexes of Kakatiyas have a distinct style, technology, and decoration exhibiting the influence of the Kakatiyan sculptor.
- The temple stands on a 6 feet high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars, and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings that attest to the unique skill of the Kakatiyan sculptors.
- The foundation is built with the “sandbox technique”, the flooring is granite, and the pillars are basalt.
- The lower part of the temple is red sandstone while the white gopuram is built with light bricks that reportedly float on water.
- European merchants and travelers were mesmerized by the beauty of the temple and one such traveler had remarked that the temple was the “brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan”.
Surviving through ages
- According to the temple priest, some of the iconography on the temple was damaged during the invasion of Malik Kafur in 1310.
- Treasure hunters vandalized the rest.
- But the biggest test for the temple was an earthquake in the 17th century (one of the biggest was that of 7.7-8.2-magnitude on June 16, 1819).
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which one of the following was a very important seaport in the Kakatiya kingdom? (CSP 2017)
(a) Kakinada
(b) Motupalli
(c) Machilipatnam (Masulipatnam)
(d) Nelluru
Post your answers here.
Back2Basics: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area, selected by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for having cultural, historical, scientific, or other forms of significance, which is legally protected by international treaties.
- The sites are judged to be important for the collective and preservative interests of humanity.
- To be selected, a WHS must be an already-classified landmark, unique in some respect as a geographically and historically identifiable place having special cultural or physical significance (such as an ancient ruin or historical structure, building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, mountain, or wilderness area).
- It may signify a remarkable accomplishment of humanity, and serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet.
- The sites are intended for practical conservation for posterity, which otherwise would be subject to risk from human or animal trespassing, unmonitored/uncontrolled/unrestricted access, or threat from local administrative negligence.
- The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Program administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 “states parties” that are elected by their General Assembly.
UNESCO World Heritage Committee
- The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger.
- It monitors the state of conservation of the World Heritage properties, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund, and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.
- It is composed of 21 states parties that are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term.
- India is NOT a member of this Committee.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Non-Transgenic Gene Editing
Mains level: Hazards of using GMO crops
The Centre is yet to decide on a research proposal from scientists which would allow plants to be genetically modified without the need for conventional transgenic technology.
What is Genome Editing?
- Genome editing (also called gene editing) is a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism’s DNA.
- These technologies allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome.
- Several approaches to genome editing have been developed.
Techs for Genome Editing
The core technologies now most commonly used to facilitate genome editing are
- Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)- associated protein 9 (Cas9)
- Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs)
- Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs)
- Homing endonucleases or meganucleases
Newer technologies
- The Institute has now moved to newer technologies such as Site-Directed Nuclease (SDN) 1 and 2.
- They aim to bring precision and efficiency into the breeding process using gene-editing tools such as CRISPR, whose developers won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2020.
About CRISPR
- CRISPR-Cas9 was adapted from a naturally occurring genome editing system in bacteria.
- The bacteria capture snippets of DNA from invading viruses and use them to create DNA segments known as CRISPR arrays.
- The CRISPR arrays allow the bacteria to “remember” the viruses (or closely related ones).
- If the viruses attack again, the bacteria produce RNA segments from the CRISPR arrays to target the viruses’ DNA.
- The bacteria then use Cas9 or a similar enzyme to cut the virus DNA apart, which disables the virus.
- This method is faster, cheaper, more accurate, and more efficient than other existing genome editing methods.
What is Non-Transgenic Gene Editing?
- Unlike the older GM technology which involves the introduction of foreign DNA, the new proposal involves the use of gene editing tools to directly tweak the plant’s own genes instead.
- It does not involve inserting any foreign DNA.
Use in India
- Scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) are in the process of developing resilient and high-yield rice varieties using such gene editing techniques.
- However, this proposal has been pending with the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) for almost two years.
Why need such technique?
- Similar to natural mutation: But in this case, this protein is right there in the plant, and is being changed a little bit, just as nature does through mutation.
- Faster and cheaper: It is much faster and far more precise than natural mutation or conventional breeding methods which involve trial and error and multiple breeding cycles.
- Safe for consumption: When a protein comes from an outside organism, then you need to test for safety.
- Pathbreaking: It is potentially a new Green Revolution.
No approval issues
- The SDN 1 and SDN 2 categories of genome-edited plants do not contain any foreign DNA when they are taken to the open field trials.
- The US, Canada, Australia and Japan are among the countries which have already approved the SDN 1 and 2 technologies as not akin to GM.
- So, such varieties of rice can be exported without any problem.
- The European Food Safety Authority has also submitted its opinion that these technologies do not need the same level of safety assessment as conventional GM.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bio-Enzymes
Mains level: Not Much
Some farmers in Punjab, especially in the Kinnow belt, have started making Bio-Enzymes (BEs) from this waste fruit — peel and ‘D’ grade, very small kinnows.
What is a Kinnow?
- The ‘Kinnow’ is a high yield citrus fruit cultivated extensively in the wider Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
- It is a year-long duration crop and the main harvesting period is from November-end to March.
- It looks similar to orange but is smaller in size.
Agricultural significance of Kinnows
- Fallen fruit is a major challenge for kinnow farmers in the state as one needs to dig up small pits to bury them, otherwise the fallen fruit rot and invite a fly attack on the healthy fruit still on the plants.
- But now, some farmers are using this waste kinnow to improve the pH level and soil fertility of their land by making BEs from this waste fruit.
What are Bio-Enzymes?
- Chemically, the Bio Enzymes are a mixture of complex organic substances such as proteins, salts and other materials that are by-products of the bacteria/yeast.
- They produced through fermentation of organic waste including various fruits, vegetable peels and flowers, by mixing in sugar, jaggery/molasses and water.
- BE’s also have a lot of usage in our daily lives. They can be used as natural cleansers.
Benefits offered by BEs
- BEs have a lot of good microbes and one of the major methods which helps overall improvement of our ecology.
- It helps in mitigating the imbalance occurred due to overuse of chemicals, in our soil, air and water.
- In a state like Punjab where water table is depleting fast and water contamination is also major issue, BEs can bring the soil back to life.
- It helps in better water recharging and also stops the contamination of water by improving the health of soil.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lagrange Points, Lucy Mission
Mains level: Not Much
The NASA has launched Lucy, the spacecraft on a 12-year cruise to look back into the origins of the solar system through Trojans.
Lucy Mission
- Lucy will fly by eight Jupiter asteroids—seven Trojans and one main-belt asteroid — over the next 12 years.
- It is NASA’s first single spacecraft mission in history to explore so many different asteroids.
- Lucy will run on solar power out to 850 million kilometers away from the Sun.
- This makes it the farthest-flung solar powered spacecraft ever, according to NASA.
What is Jupiter Trojan Asteroids?
- Simply known as Trojans, they are a large group of asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun.
- Thousands of such asteroids exist in a gravitationally stable space.
- The swarms lead and follow the planet Jupiter along its orbit around the Sun.
What exactly are Trojans?
- Lucy’s Trojan destinations are trapped near Jupiter’s Lagrange (L) points, which are gravitationally stable locations — it is where the gravity from the Sun and from Jupiter cancel each other out.
- This means their orbits are stable and the Trojans are trapped in the space between.
- This also means that asteroids are as far away from Jupiter as they are from the Sun.
- Jupiter’s leading and trailing Lagrangian points (L4 and L5) have been stable over the age of the solar system.
- This means that their orbits have accumulated many, many asteroids.
- It makes sense to call a Trojan a co-orbital object, which moves around one of the two stable Lagrangian points.
When and how were they discovered?
- It took many a scientist to understand Trojans, and subsequently, name them so.
- A German astro-photographer in 1906 made an important discovery: An asteroid with a particularly unusual orbit. As Jupiter moved, this asteroid remained ahead of Jupiter.
- It was observed that the asteroid was nearly 60 degrees in front of Jupiter.
Students with engineering background would better understand who Lagrange was. Rest need not care.
Lagrange’s propositions
- This specific position of a peculiar behaviour was predicted by the Italian-French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange over 100 years earlier.
- Lagrange had argued that if a small celestial body is placed at one of two stable points in a planet’s orbit around the Sun (the L4 and L5), the asteroid would remain stationary from the planet’s perspective.
- This is due to the combined gravitational forces of the planet and the Sun.
- Thus, Lagrange’s prediction acquired credibility. More such asteroids were discovered over subsequent months in Jupiter’s Lagrange point L5.
Behind the name: Lucy
- It is the fossil of a hominin that lived 3.2 million years ago.
- She is known to be one of the most famous pre-human fossil in history.
- Nearly 40 per cent of the fossilised skeleton of this hominin was discovered in 1974 by a team of paleoanthropologists led by Donald Johanson.
- The name was inspired from the famous Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” which Johanson’s team listened to at camp the night of their discovery.
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Back2Basics: Lagrange Points
- Lagrange points are positions in space where objects sent there tend to stay put.
- They are named after Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange.
- At Lagrange points, the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them.
- These points in space can be used by spacecraft to reduce the fuel consumption needed to remain in position.
- There are five special points where a small mass can orbit in a constant pattern with two larger masses.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mawsmai Cave
Mains level: Not Much
A micro snail species named Georissa mawsmaiensis has recently been discovered from Mawsmai, a limestone cave in Meghalaya, 170 years after the last such discovery was made.
Georissa mawsmaiensis
- Georissa is found in soil or subterranean habitats in lowland tropical forest as well as high altitude evergreen forests or on rock surfaces rich in calcium.
- The members of the Georissa genus are widely distributed across and reported from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
- However, they are confined to microhabitats consisting of limestone caves or karst landscapes formed by the dissolution of limestone.
About Mawsmai Cave
- The Mawsmai cave is situated in the small village of Mawsmai, around four kilometres from Cherrapunjee (Sohra) in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.
- It is located at an altitude of 1,195 metres above sea level and is indirectly influenced by the streams of the Kynshi river originating from the East Khasi Hills.
- The term ‘Mawsmai’ means ‘Oath Stone’ in the Khasi language. The Khasi people use the local term ‘Krem’ for the cave.
- It is famous for its fossils, some which can be spotted looking at the walls and formations inside.
- The longest is Krem Liat Prah in the Jaintia Hills, which is 30,957 m (31 km approx.)
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ex Cambrian Patrol
Mains level: Not Much
A team from Gorkha Rifles which represented the Indian Army at the prestigious Cambrian Patrol Exercise at Brecon, Wales, UK, has been awarded a Gold medal.
Ex Cambrian Patrol
- Organized by the UK Army, this exercise is considered the ultimate test of human endurance, team spirit and is sometimes referred as the Olympics of Military Patrolling.
- The aim of The Cambrian Patrol is to provide a challenging patrols exercise in order to enhance operational capability.
- The event has evolved into a cost-effective, ready-made exercise that Commanding Officers can use to test the basic training standards of their soldiers, in preparation for future operations.
- It is mission-focused and scenario-based with role players used to enhance the training benefit.
How it is conducted?
- During the exercise, teams are assessed for their performance under harsh terrain and inclement cold weather conditions.
- They undergo various challenges in addition to the complex real-world situations painted to them so as to assess their reactions in combat settings.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Zeolite
Mains level: NA
To meet the demand of oxygen supply in the country during the peak of pandemic, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had chartered the Air India to import ‘Zeolite’ from different countries.
What are Zeolites?
- Zeolites are highly porous, 3-dimensional meshes of silica and alumina.
- In nature, they occur where volcanic outflows have met water.
- Synthetic zeolites have proven to be a big and low-cost boon.
Uses in Oxygen Concentrator
- One biomedical device that has entered our lexicon during the pandemic is the oxygen concentrator.
- This device has brought down the scale of oxygen purification from industrial-size plants to the volumes needed for a single person.
- At the heart of this technology are synthetic frameworks of silica and alumina with nanometer-sized pores that are rigid and inflexible.
- Beads of one such material, zeolite 13X, about a millimeter in diameter, are packed into two cylindrical columns in an oxygen concentrator.
How does it work?
- Zeolite performs the chemistry of separating oxygen from nitrogen in air.
- Being highly porous, zeolite beads have a surface area of about 500 square meters per gram.
- At high pressures in the column, nitrogen is in a tight embrace, chemically speaking, with the zeolite.
- Interaction between the negatively charged zeolite and the asymmetric nucleus (quadrupole moment) of nitrogen causes it to be preferentially adsorbed on the surface of the zeolite.
- Oxygen remains free, and is thus enriched.
- Once nitrogen is captured, what flows out from the column is 90%-plus oxygen.
- After this, lowering the pressure in the column releases the nitrogen, which is flushed out, and the cycle is repeated with fresh air.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yudh Abhyas 2021
Mains level: India-US defense ties
The 17th edition of the India-U.S. bilateral exercise, Yudh Abhyas 2021, got underway in mountainous terrain and cold climate conditions of Alaska, US.
Yudh Abhyas 2021
- Exercise Yudh Abhyas is the largest running joint military training and defence cooperation endeavour between India and USA.
- The exercise aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the two armies.
Why it is significant?
- Interestingly, this is the only India-U.S. service exercise continuing in bilateral format.
- The India-U.S. Malabar naval exercise became trilateral with the addition of Japan in 2015 and further brought in all the Quad partners together with the inclusion of Australia in 2020.
- Similarly, Japan joined the India-U.S. bilateral air exercise, Cope India, as an Observer in 2018 and the plan is to make it trilateral in phases.
- Other than the Malabar, Japan had sent observers for the first time during Cope India 2018 as an Observer in 2018. s
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Small Finance Bank
Mains level: Not Much
The Reserve Bank of India has issued a small finance bank (SFB) license to a consortium of fintech companies BharatPe and Centrum Financial Services Ltd.
What is a SFB?
- Small finance banks (SFBs) are a type of niche banks in India.
- They can be promoted either by individuals, corporate, trusts or societies.
- They are governed by the provisions of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and other relevant statutes.
- They are established as public limited companies in the private sector under the Companies Act, 2013.
- Banks with a SFB license can provide basic banking service of acceptance of deposits and lending.
Objectives of setting-up an SFB
- To provide financial inclusion to sections of the economy not being served by other banks, such as small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganized sector entities
Key features of SFBs
- Existing non-banking financial companies (NBFC), microfinance institutions (MFI) and local area banks (LAB) can apply to become small finance banks.
- The banks will not be restricted to any region.
- 75% of its net credits should be in priority sector lending and 50% of the loans in its portfolio must in ₹25 lakh.
- The firms must have a capital of at least ₹200 crore.
- The promoters should have 10 years’ experience in banking and finance.
- Foreign shareholding will be allowed in these banks as per the rules for FDI in private banks in India.
Back2Basics: Small Payments Bank Vs. Payment Bank
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
Mains level: Issues with forest land diversion
The Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has published proposed amendments to the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
The FCA is the principal legislation that regulates deforestation in the country.
- It prohibits the felling of forests for any “non-forestry” use without prior clearance by the central government.
- The clearance process includes seeking consent from local forest rights-holders and from wildlife authorities.
- The Centre is empowered to reject such requests or allow it with legally binding conditions.
- In a landmark decision in 1996, the Supreme Court had expanded the coverage of FCA to all areas that satisfied the dictionary definition of a forest; earlier, only lands specifically notified as forests were protected by the enforcement of the FCA.
The FCA is brief legislation with only five sections of which-
- Section 1 defines the extent of coverage of the law,
- Section 2 restrictions of activities in forest areas and the rest deals with the creation of advisory committees, powers of rule-making and penalties.
Why is the Act being amended now?
- The current definition of forests has locked land across the country; even private owners cannot utilise their own property for non-forestry purposes.
- The pressure for forest land diversion has been coming from — Ministries such as Rail and Roads.
- Under the Act, any diversion of any forest land for any purpose, including assignment of leases, needs prior approval of the Centre.
What defines ‘Forest’ under this act?
- Previously, the Act had applied largely to reserve forests and national parks.
- In 1996, ruling in T N Godavarman Thirumulpad v Union of India Case, the Supreme Court had expanded the definition and scope of forest land.
- It would thus include all areas recorded as forest in any government record, irrespective of ownership, recognition and classification.
- The court also expanded the definition of forests to encompass the “dictionary meaning of forests”.
- This would mean that a forested patch would automatically become a “deemed forest” even if it is not notified as protected, and irrespective of ownership.
- The Act would also be applicable over plantations in non-forest land.
What are the proposed amendments?
(A) Exemptions for Road and Railways
- The MoEFCC has proposed that all land acquired by the Railways and Roads Ministries prior to 1980 be exempted from the Act.
- Once the lands had been acquired for expansion, but subsequently, forests have grown in these areas, and the government is no longer able to use the land for expansion.
- The Ministries will no longer need clearance for their projects, nor pay compensatory levies to build there.
(B) Relaxation
- It distinguishes individuals whose lands fall within a state-specific Private Forests Act or comes within the dictionary meaning of forest as specified in the 1996 Supreme Court order.
- The government proposes to allow the “construction of structures for bona fide purposes’’ including residential units up to 250 sq m as a one-time relaxation.
(C) Defense and other projects
- Defence projects near international borders will be exempted from forest clearance.
- Oil and natural gas extraction from forested lands will be permitted, but only if technologies such as Extended Reach Drilling are used.
- Strip plantations alongside roads that would fall under the Act will be exempted.
What are the concerns?
- Legalizing private ownership of forests: The rules will facilitate corporate ownership.
- Deforestation: The exemption of forests on private land will lead to the disappearance of large tracts of forests.
- Fragmentation: Exemption for private residences on private forest will lead to fragmentation of forests, and open areas such as the Aravalli mountains to real estate.
- Tribal concerns: The amendments do not address what will happen to tribals and forest-dwelling communities over the cleared lands.
- Threat to wildlife: Exemption for roads and railways on forest land acquired prior to 1980 will be detrimental to forests as well as wildlife – especially elephants, tigers and leopards.
Positives with the amendment
- It has proposed making forest laws more stringent for notified forests, making offences non-bailable with increased penalties including imprisonment of up to one year.
- It has disallowed any kind of diversion in certain forests.
- It has attempt to define and identify forests once and for all — something that has been often ambiguous.
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