• The Indian Coast Guard has concluded maiden contract for ten multicopter drones to boost marine surveillance and interdiction capabilities.
• This is in consonance with Government’s policy of embracing drone technology.
• Defence Ministry said these drones are capable of being launched from ships whilst underway, as well as shore stations.
• These drones are going to assist in search and rescue, both by day as well as night. The Coast Guard plans to induct one hundred additional drones by 2025.
• This will meet the growing challenges in India’s Maritime Zones and Search and Rescue Region.

About:

• Data from the study showed that a single dose of the therapy was superior to the current standard of care in helping reduce the bleeding rate in patients with moderately severe to severe forms of hemophilia B.

What is Haemophilia?

• It is a medical condition, mostly inherited, in which the ability of blood to clot is severely reduced.
• This disease is caused by a mutation in one of the genes, that provides instructions for making the clotting factor proteins needed to form a blood clot.
• This change or mutation can prevent the clotting protein from working properly or to be missing altogether. These genes are located on the X chromosome.
• Men are more vulnerable to haemophilia than women. It is a rare disease where in about 1 in 10,000 people are born with it.

About:

• Ramappa Temple, also known as the Rudreshwara temple, is a Kakatiya style Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva, located in Telangana.
• The medieval Deccan Ramappa Temple which dates back to 1213 AD, was built by the patronage of the Kakatiya ruler Kakati Ganapathi Deva under the authority of his Chief Commander Rudra Samani.
• The temple got its name Ramappa because of its chief sculptor Ramappa. Ramappa Temple is probably the only temple in India that is named after the architect.
• In 2021, the temple was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as “Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana”.
• Architectural features:
  • Earthquake-proof: Made out of clay mixed with acacia wood, chaff and myrobalan fruit (a family of amla), the bricks used in building the gopuram of the temple are light enough to float on water. Using this technique has made the temple light, meaning, in case of a natural event like an earthquake, the probability of it collapsing would be very low.
  • Sandbox technique: The temple construction was done using the sandbox technique. This is a technique where the foundation pit is filled with a mixture of sand-lime, jaggery and black myrobalan fruit. This mix acts as a cushion in case of earthquakes.
  • The temple’s many carved pillars are positioned in such a way that when the sunlight hits these pillars. One of the pillars has a Lord Krishna carved into it. When gently hit, the pillar produces musical notes.

About:

• A team of Scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics detected strange hot stars in the Globular clusters using the Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) images on AstroSat (India’s first dedicated space observatory, which has been operating since 2015).

What are Globular clusters?

• Globular clusters are spherical aggregates of several thousand to millions of stars bound by gravity. These systems are thought to have formed early on in the Universe and can serve as perfect astrophysical laboratories for astronomers to understand how stars evolve through various phases.
• Omega Centauri is a globular cluster in the constellation of Centaurus that was first identified as a non-stellar object by Edmond Halley in 1677.
• Located at a distance of 17,090 light-years, it is the largest-known globular cluster in the Milky Way at a diameter of roughly 150 light-years.

What is Galaxy?

• A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems bound together by gravity.
• Milky Way, is stuffed with between 100 billion and 400 billion other stars, many of them with planets of their own. The Milky Way got its name from the way it looks from the ground: like a streak of spilt milk across the sky

About:

• The marine biologists identified these species as Mytella strigata or Charru musselswhich are Native to South America.
• These mussels have invaded tidal wetlands in several parts of the world, including Vembanad in Kerala. This is spreading due to the discharge of ballast waters from ships visiting the ports of Kattupalli.
• After Cyclone Vardah in December 2016, the mussels began to intensify and spread far north towards the Pulicat waters.
• Human interference in the wetlands, pollution and nature’s actions have triggered the rapid spread of the species.
• Threats: These mussels spread like a carpet over the river bottoms and thus preventing prawns from grazing or burying themselves in the sediment.
• Its spread is wiping out the locally prevalent yellow clams and green mussels.

What is an invasive species?

• An invasive species is an non-native organism that is introduced into the local environment either intentionally or by chance.
• Its presence more often has a negative impact on the local ecosystem, completely altering it and bringing about environmental or economic damage.

Facts about the Charru Mussel

• A mussel is a common term for several families of bivalve molluscs primarily found in saltwater and freshwater habitats
• Charru Mussels are found in Panama, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. In the Philippines, Thailand and India however, they are invasive species.
• Charru Mussels are also speculated to be native to the Galapagos Islands and the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Ecuador.
• These species of mussels can survive bst in temperatures from 20℃ – 23℃but they have also been known to thrive in 13℃-36℃. They cannot survive beyond 36℃ and have lower chances of survival in colder temperatures.
• A Mytella Strigata spawns between the months of July and October. The embryos develop larvae before mauring into a bivalve veliger resembling small clams.

Why in News?

• ‘Satark Nagrik Sangathan’ (SNS) has prepared the ‘Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India, 2021-22.

About Satark Nagrik Sangathan’ (SNS).

• Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) or Society for Citizens Vigilance Initiatives (SCVI), set up in 2003, is a citizens’ group with a mandate to promote transparency and accountability in government functioning and to ensure active participation of citizens in governance.
• SNS creates awareness about the Right to Information Act, 2005and seeks to enable citizens’ participation in governance by using the RTI law to obtain information about the various activities of the government.

Facts from this Report:

• Nearly 60% information commissioners were retired government officials. “Merely 10% of all commissioners across India have been women and at present no information commission is headed by a woman.
• Low disposal rates and vacancies in commissions are leading to a large backlog of cases and long waiting time for information seekers.
• The number of appeals and complaints pending on June 30, 2022 in the 26 information commissions, from which data was obtained, stood at 3.14 lakh.”
• Penalty was imposed in just 3% of the cases disposed of by Information Commissions,” said the report on the performance of the 29 information commissions set up under the RTI Act across India.
• The SIC (State Information Commission) of Tamil Nadu was found to have the worst performing IC (Information Commission) in terms of responsiveness under the RTI Act furnishing only 14% of the information sought.
• Maharashtra SIC with an alarming backlog of nearly 1,00,000 (one lakh) had the highest number of appeals/complaints pending as of June 30, 2022.
• The estimated waiting time for disposal of a new case in West Bengal SIC was found to be 24 years & 3 months,” said the report released by Anjali Bhardwaj on Thursday.
• In Odisha and Maharashtra SICs, estimated time for disposal was more than 5 years. The assessment shows that 12 commissions would take one year or more to dispose of a matter.
• Most of the information- including regarding the number of appeals and complaints dealt with by the IC, details of penalty imposed & compensation awarded- was denied (by Tamil Nadu IC) stating that the information could be provided only “after getting the approval of the State Legislative Assembly”, though no such provisions exist in the RTI Act.
• Large number of cases being returned by ICs- Several ICs were found to be returning a very large number of cases without passing any orders. The CIC, UP SIC and Andhra Pradesh SIC returned around 40% of the appeals/complaints received by them.
• Several commissions have an extremely low rate of disposal per commissioner. For instance, the SIC of West Bengal had an annual average disposal rate of 222 cases per commissioner –– each commissioner effectively disposing of less than one case a day — even though more than 10,000 cases were pending.
• Of all the 29 information commissions, only the CIC has adopted a norm regarding the number of appeals/complaints to be disposed of by each commissioner in one year.
• Many commissions are functioning at reduced capacity and without a Chief due to governments not filling vacancies in a timely manner. SICs of Jharkhand and Tripura are completely defunct as no new commissioners have been appointed upon the incumbent’s demitting office.

Shortcomings highlighted by Report in the functioning of Information Commissions across India.

• Large backlogs
• Tardy disposal rate and
• Lack of diversity in the composition of information commissions.

Why in News?

• The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, has notified a National Geospatial Policy 2022, with the goal of making India a world leader in the global geospatial sector.

What is Geospatial Technology?

• Geospatial Technology is an emerging field of study that includes Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and Global Positioning System (GPS).
• It has applications in almost every domain of the economy ranging from –
  • Agriculture to industries,
  • Development of urban or rural infrastructure,
  • Administration of land,
  • Economic activities of banking and finance, resources, mining, water, disaster management, social planning, delivery services, etc.
• It enables government systems, services, and initiatives to be integrated using ‘location’ as a common and underpinning reference frame.
• Geospatial data is now widely accepted as a critical national infrastructure and information resource with proven societal, economic and environmental value.

The National Geospatial Policy, 2022:

• Background:
  • In 2021, the DST issued “Guidelines for acquiring and producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps”.
  • The Guidelines deregulated the Geospatial sector by liberalising Geospatial data acquisition/ production/ access, with an aim to promote private sector participation through continued enhancements of Ease of Doing Business in the sector.
  • The 2022 Policy takes it further by laying down an overarching framework for holistic development of the Geospatial ecosystem.
  • It comes at a time when India’s geospatial economy is expected to cross Rs 63,000 crore by 2025 at a growth rate of 12.8%
• About: It is a citizen-centric policy that seeks to strengthen the Geospatial sector to support national development, economic prosperity and a thriving information economy.

Vision and goals:

• To make India a World Leader in Global Geospatial space with the best in the class ecosystem for innovation.
• To develop a coherent national framework in the country and leverage it to move towards a digital economy and improve services to citizens.
• To develop Geospatial infrastructures, Geospatial skill and knowledge, standards, Geospatial businesses.
• To promote innovation and strengthen the national and sub-national arrangements for generation and management of Geospatial information.

Following are the milestones (2025, 2030 and 2035) in the journey towards realisation of the aforesaid vision:

• Year 2025: Put in place an enabling policy and legal framework that supports liberalisation of the Geospatial sector and democratisation of data for enhanced commercialization with Value Added Services.
• National Digital Twins of India’s major cities and towns by 2035: The digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical asset, process or service that lies at the core of the new digital revolution.
• This facilitates policymakers to understand how infrastructure will function in different situations such as increase of population or during natural disasters.

Institutional framework:

• A Geospatial Data Promotion and Development Committee (GDPDC, will be a 17-member body) at the national level shall be the apex body for formulating and implementing strategies related to promotion of the Geospatial sector.
• GDPDC would replace and subsume the functions and powers of the National Spatial Data Committee (NSDC) constituted in 2006 and GDPDC constituted in 2021.

Significance:

• To make geospatial technology and data as agents of transformation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Bringing efficiency in all sectors of economy and instilling accountability and transparency at all levels of governance.

Why in News?

• Recently, the Election Commission (EC) announced that it is ready to pilot remote voting for domestic migrants.

About the Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) 

• About:
  • EC has developed a prototype for a Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM)that can handle multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
  • It is based on the currently used EVM system.
  • The VVPAT system is expected to work along the same lines with the new technology.
• Developed by:

• • The RVM is developed with the assistance of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).

• Characteristics & functioning:
  • The RVMs are stand alone, non-networked systems, which will effectively be providing the voter the same experience as currently used EVMs.
  • Set up:
    • They will be set up in remote locations outside the state under similar conditions as current polling booths.
  • Single Remote Ballot Unit for multiple constituencies:
    • The unique feature of RVMs is that a single Remote Ballot Unit (RBU) will be able to cater to multiple constituencies (as many as 72) by using a “dynamic ballot display board” instead of the usual printed paper ballot sheet on EVMs.
  • Ballot Unit Overlay Display:
    • The Ballot Unit Overlay Display (BUOD) will show the requisite candidates based on the constituency number read on the voter’s Constituency card.
    • A barcode scanning system will be used to read these cards.
  • The voting process will be as follows: 
    • After verifying a voter’s identity, their constituency card will be read with a public display showing the constituency details and candidates.
    • This will also be displayed privately, on the BUOD in the RVM’s RBU.
    • The voter will then vote and each vote will be stored constituency-wise in the control unit of the voting machine.

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited Model Children Home and Old Age Home, Nari Sewa Sadan, at Mashobra and the Institute for Children with Special Abilities (ICSA) at Dhalli, Shimla. He took stock of the facilities being provided to the inmates and directed officers to ensure best facilities to them.
• The CM said the government would provide festive allowance to the inmates of such institutions run by the government.
• The three integrated social welfare institutions would be opened in different parts of the state to provide state-of-the-art facilities to destitute women, orphans and differently abled children.
• He said he had directed the departments concerned to ensure proper planning, designing of the buildings to be constructed for such institutions.

• Two villages near the China border in tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti — Gue and Lalung — have been selected under the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) by the Central Government for development purpose.
• An exercise by the Kaza administration to collect necessary data on the development requirements of people in these villages has been initiated.
• A committee has been formed, comprising officials of Tourism, Art and Culture, Education, Jal Shakti, Health and other departments to conduct a survey of these villages to assess the necessary requirements of villagers. A detailed report of the survey would be submitted to the Centre within a month for further action.
• Kaza ADC Abhishek Verma said a DGP-rank officer of the Centre and a Director-level officer of the Textile Ministry had conducted a survey in Spiti valley to select the border villages in this district under the programme.
• The ADC said earlier, of the 13 gram panchayats of the Spiti valley, 12 were selected under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP). The administration had requested the Centre to include the one which was left.
• In a majority of states or districts, only one border village was selected under the programme. However, Lahaul and Spiti is the only district of which two villages have been selected under the programme to provide necessary development and infrastructure to stop migration of people out of the border villages,” he said.
• The Finance Minister had announced the programme in her Budget speech this year. The programme envisages coverage of border villages on the Northern border having sparse population, limited connectivity and infrastructure, which are often deprived of development projects. Convergence of existing schemes is proposed under the VVP.
• The Centre is implementing the BADP through the state governments/UT administrations in habitations located within 0 to 10 km from the first habitation at the International Border in 460 border blocks of 117 border districts in 16 states and two UTs.
• These include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, J&K (UT) and Ladakh (UT).
• Under the BADP, annual action plans of the states/UTs consisting of works related to village infrastructure such as roads and bridges, health, education, agriculture, sports, drinking water and sanitation etc. are considered and approved as per the BADP guidelines.