Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released the first-ever priority pathogen list — which includes 19 fungi — to identify fungi which pose the greatest threat to public health.

• This systematic prioritisation will help address the perceived public health importance and satisfy the unmet needs in the research and development sector.
• The list takes precedence from the bacterial priority pathogens list, first established by WHO in 2017 with a similar focus to galvanise global attention and action.
• The global health body’s fungal priority pathogen list was released October 25, 2022. It has been divided into three categories —  critical, high and medium priority.

Highlights of the report:

• Fungal pathogens are a major threat to public health as they are becoming increasingly common and resistant to treatment with only four classes of antifungal medicines currently available, and few candidates in the clinical pipeline.
• Most fungal pathogens lack rapid and sensitive diagnostics and those that exist are not widely available or affordable globally.
• The list’s publication is opportune as fungi are becoming an increasingly common threat to public health. Global warming and increasing international travel and trade are fuelling this rise.
• The COVID-19 pandemic saw an increase in mucormycosis or black fungus infections among those hospitalised.
• Black Fungus, White Fungus, Yellow Fungus, and Green Fungus have been attributed to COVID-19 and led to prolonged morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients.
• A three-layered approach emerged in the strategies suggested by policymakers, governments and public health professionals.

The strategy includes:

• Strengthening laboratory capacity and surveillance.
• Sustaining investments in research, development and innovation
• Enhancing public health interventions for prevention and control.

Mucormycosis or Black Fungus

• Increased cases of Black Fungus or Mucormycosis have been observed in COVID-19 patients in the national capital.

The symptoms of Black Fungus infection are:

• For Brain Mucormycosis: One-sided facial swelling, Headache, Nasal or sinus congestion, Black lesions on nasal bridge or upper inside of the mouth, Fever.
• For Pulmonary Mucormycosis: Fever, Cough, Chest pain, Shortness of breath
• For Gastrointestinal Mucormycosis: Abdominal pain, Nausea and vomiting, Gastrointestinal bleeding.
• Risks of getting infected with Black Fungus: Diabetes, Cancer, Organ transplant, Stem cell transplant, Neutropenia, Long-term corticosteroid use, Hemochromatosis (excess of iron), Skin injury due to surgery, burns, or wounds etc.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

India now has 12 ‘blue’ beaches, a certificate awarded by the prestigious international programme of cleanliness and environmental sustainability run by the global nonprofit Foundation for Environmental Education.

• Two more beaches, both in Lakshadweep, have been accorded the ‘Blue Flag’ tag, putting them in an elite list of the world’s cleanest and most eco-friendly “beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism operators”.

The Blue Flag

• The Blue Flag is an exclusive eco-label or certification that is given to coastal locations around the world as a badge of environmental honour. 
• The Blue Flag programme is run by the Copenhagen, Denmark-headquartered Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), a nonprofit which, through its work, contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
• According to the FEE, “the iconic Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognised voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators. 
• In order to qualify for the Blue Flag, a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria must be met and maintained.”
• The Blue Flag programme started in 1987, initially in Europe. Certification is awarded annually. 
• A total 5,042 beaches, marinas, and tourism boats in 48 countries have been awarded the label so far. 
• A marina is a small harbour where mainly pleasure boats and yachts dock.
• The certification is given by an international jury comprising members of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), besides FEE.
• “Central to the ideals of the Blue Flag programme is the aim of connecting the public with their surroundings and encouraging them to learn more about their environment.

Beaches in India

• The two new beaches to have been awarded the eco-label are 
• Minicoy Thundi beach  
• Kadmat beach, both in Lakshadweep. 
• The other 10 Indian beaches on the list, according to the FEE site, are
• Shivrajpur in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district; 
• Ghogla beach in Diu 
• Kasarkod (Uttara Kannada) 
• Padubidri (Udupi) in Karnataka
• Kappad (Kozhikode) in Kerala
• Eden beach in Puducherry
• Kovalam (Chennai) in Tamil Nadu
• Rushikonda (Visakhapatnam) in Andhra Pradesh
• Golden beach in Puri, Odisha
• Radhanagar Swarajdeep in Andaman and Nicobar.

Kovalam and Eden got the Blue Flag last year. The other eight beaches received the certification in 2020, and were re-certified last year.

Do’s and Don’ts

• In January 2020, an Extraordinary Gazette Notification gave a list of permissible activities and facilities in the CRZ of the beaches, including islands, subject to maintaining a minimum distance of 10 metres from the High Tide Line (HTL), for the purposes of Blue Flag certification.
• These included portable toilet blocks, change rooms and shower panels; solid waste management plant; solar power plant; purified drinking water facility; beach access pathways; landscaping lighting; seating benches and sit-out umbrellas; cloak room facility; safety watch towers and beach safety equipment; information boards and other signages; fencing; and parking facilities.
• The notification said that these activities and facilities would be exempt from prior clearance under the provisions of CRZ Notification, Island Protection Zone Notification and Island Coastal Regulation Zone Notifications.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) pledged by countries to arrest climate change are insufficient, noted a new report released by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

• Cumulative CO2 emissions in 2020-2030, based on the latest NDCs, would likely use up 86 per cent of the remaining carbon budget, according to the new NDC Synthesis Report.
• The UNFCCC’s synthesis report is an annual summary of climate commitments made by countries and their impact on global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 
• These commitments known as Nationally Determined Contributions were made by countries who signed on to the Paris Agreement to address climate change.
• The latest iteration of the report analyses 166 NDCs communicated to the UNFCCC.
• Only 24 countries submitted new or updated NDCs after COP 26.

India

• India submitted its upwardly revised NDC in August, extending two of its previous NDC goals.
• India now stands committed to reducing emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 from its 2005 levels, according to the updated NDC.
• The country will also target about 50 per cent of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
• Global emissions must amount to only 31 GtCO2e in 2030 (43 per cent lower in 2030 compared to 2019) to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees celcius above pre-industrial levels, according to the IPCC.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

• • ‘Panchamrit’ announced at COP 26
  • net-zero by 2070
  • To reduce Emissions Intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030
  • LIFE’– ‘Lifestyle for Environment’

• Principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC)

Concerns

• Currently, we are on track for about 2.5°C of temperature rise by 2100, from a possible range of 2.1°C to 2.9°C.
• Most worrying is the impact on the carbon budget — a biophysical threshold of CO2 that can be emitted to prevent global average temperatures from rising above a certain level.
• Carbon budgets are constructed on the premise that there is a near-linear relationship between rising global temperatures and the level of cumulative atmospheric CO2.
• Breaching 1.5°C would lead to irreversible damage to vital planetary features such as the Greenland Ice Sheet, the west Antarctic Ice Sheet and tropical coral reefs. It can lead to more floods, droughts, heat, disease, storms.

Long-term low-emission development strategies (LT-LEDS)

• A second report published today by the UNFCCC summarises 53 long-term emission reduction plans submitted by countries. 
• These plans are known as long-term low-emission development strategies (LT-LEDS).
• These plans typically follow the announcement of a long-term target, such as net zero emissions by 2050 or 2070. 
• Some 87 per cent of these plans communicated 2050 as a date along with a quantifiable long-term mitigation goal. 
• Most NDCs (92 per cent) in the NDC Synthesis report are dated to 2030.
• LT-LEDS are typically broader in scope than NDCs and incorporate developmental goals as well as required levels of investment and government expenditure, said the LT-LEDS Synthesis report.
• The UNFCCC estimates the total emissions of countries who submitted LT-LEDS to be 10.8 GtCO2e, 68 per cent lower than 2019 levels. 
• Alignment between NDCs and LT-LEDS is still unclear only 8 per cent of countries mentioned that their NDCs are aligned with their LT-LEDS.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The United States is considering retrieving older HAWK air defence equipment from storage to send to Ukraine which is facing a heavy barrage of Russian drone-fired and cruise missiles.

HAWK after Stinger

• The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an upgrade to the Stinger missile system, which is a smaller, shorter-range air defence system.
• The US sent the shoulder-fired anti-aircraft Stingers to Ukraine early on in the war, and then placed orders for more stocks of the missiles with Raytheon Technologies Corp. 
• After they demonstrated great success in stopping Russian air assaults.
• HAWK, short for ‘Homing All the Way Killer’, entered service with the US Army in 1959, during the Vietnam war. 
• It underwent upgrades over the decades that followed, including a major one in 1971 that produced the so-called I-HAWK (or improved HAWK), with a kill probability of 85%.
• The HAWK system was the predecessor to the PATRIOT missile defence system that Raytheon built in the 1990s. 
• US forces largely stopped using HAWK from the early years of the new century.
• The Biden administration would use the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) to transfer the HAWK equipment, Reuters said. According to the US Department of State. 
• PDA allows for the “speedy delivery of defence articles and services from Department of Defence stocks to foreign countries and international organisations to respond to unforeseen emergencies”.
• Military assistance under PDA does not require Congressional approval, and could “begin arriving within days or even hours of approval.

The US has provided almost $17 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine since the launch of Russia’s invasion on February 24.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Ministry of Home Affairs has cancelled the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT), organisations that are associated with the Nehru-Gandhi family, for alleged violations of the provisions of the Act.

FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act)

• Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act: It is an act of Parliament enacted in 1976 and amended in 2010 to regulate foreign donations and to ensure that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.
• It is applicable to all associations, groups, and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations.
• Members of the legislature and political parties, government officials, judges, and media persons are prohibited from receiving any foreign contribution.
• However, in 2017 the FCRA was amended through the Finance Bill to allow political parties to receive funds from the Indian subsidiary of a foreign company or a foreign company in which an Indian holds 50% or more shares.
• Registration: It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA. The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.
• Purpose of Foreign contribution: Registered associations can receive foreign contributions for social, educational, religious, economic, and cultural purposes. The filing of annual returns on the lines of Income Tax is compulsory.

Provisions of the Act:

• Every person or NGO wishing to receive foreign donations to be registered under the Act,
• To open a bank account for the receipt of the foreign funds in State Bank of India, Delhi.
• To utilise those funds only for the purpose for which they have been received, and as stipulated in the Act.
• They are also required to file annual returns, and they must not transfer the funds to another NGO.
• The Act prohibits receipt of foreign funds by candidates for elections, journalists or newspaper and media broadcast companies, judges and government servants, members of legislature and political parties or their office-bearers, and organisations of a political nature.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) New Rules:

• In 2015, the MHA notified new rules which required NGOs to give an undertaking that the acceptance of foreign funds is not likely to prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or impact friendly relations with any foreign state and does not disrupt communal harmony.
• It also said all such NGOs would have to operate accounts in either nationalized or private banks which have core banking facilities to allow security agencies access on a real-time basis.

Registration under FCRA

• NGOs that want to receive foreign funds must apply online in a prescribed format with the required documentation.
• The registrations are granted to individuals or associations that have definite cultural, economic, educational, religious, and social programmes.
• Post application, the MHA makes inquiries through the Intelligence Bureau into the antecedents of the applicant, and accordingly processes the application.
• The MHA is required to approve or reject the application within 90 days — failing which it is expected to inform the NGO of the reasons for the same.

Cancellation of approval

• The government reserves the right to cancel the FCRA registration of any NGO if it finds it to be in violation of the Act. 
• Registration can be cancelled for a range of reasons including, if “in the opinion of the Central Government, it is necessary in the public interest to cancel the certificate”. 
• Once the registration of an NGO is cancelled, it is not eligible for re-registration for three years. 
• All orders of the government can be challenged in the High Court.

Foreign Contribution Regulation (Amendment), Act 2020

• Transfer of foreign contribution: Under the Act, foreign contribution cannot be transferred to any other person unless such person is also registered for that purpose. The amendment also forbids sub-granting by NGOs to smaller NGOs who work at the grassroots.
• Single FCRA account: The act states that foreign contributions must be received only in an FCRA account opened in the State Bank of India, New Delhi Branch. No funds other than the foreign contribution should be received or deposited in this account.
• Regulation: The Act states that a person may accept foreign contributions if 1. They have obtained a certificate of registration from the central government or 2. They have taken prior permission from the government to accept foreign contributions.  
• Aadhaar usage: The act makes it compulsory for all trustees to register their Aadhaar card with the FCRA account.
• Reduction in use of foreign contribution for administrative purposes: The Act decreases administrative expenses through foreign funds by an organisation to 20% from 50% earlier.

Criticisms about Amendment

• Significantly all the NGOs on the latest list work on climate change and environmental projects and/or child rights and slavery projects.
• These are the subjects where the government has been sensitive to international criticism.
• International Pressure regarding Law Making and over-compliance:
• Despite India’s record in complying with the Paris agreement, global pressures are intensifying on India to raise the Nationally Determined Contributions.
• It is detrimental to the Indian image and poverty reduction plans.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

A rather frail-looking plant spotted on the granite hillocks of Palakkad has been identified as a new species of the genus Allmania. 

Named Allmania multiflora, the species is quite special from both the botanical and conservation points of view.

Characteristics

• Found at heights ranging between 1,000 to 1,250 metres, Allmania multiflora is an annual herb, erect, with branches arising from the base. 
• The stem is red to violet at the base and green above. 
• Shorter tepals and wider gynoecium (parts of the flower), shorter bracts and in the diameter of the seeds are among the characteristics that distinguishes it from Allmania nodiflora.
• Flowering and fruiting occurs from May to September.

• An annual herb that grows to a height of about 60 cm, Allmania multiflora is only the second species of this genus identified so far anywhere. 
• The discovery has come 188 years after the genus and the first species were described by botanists.
• Field surveys, genetic analysis, and molecular and morphometric investigations demonstrated it as distinct from Allmania nodiflora, which so far had been accepted as the lone Allmania species.
• The first species, Allmania nodiflora, was originally published under the genus Celosia as Celosia nodiflora in 1753. 
• Specimens found in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) were first described as Allmania nodiflora in 1834.
• Its new-found cousin, Allmania multiflora, is currently known only from a few locations. 
• It is a Critically Endangered,as per the IUCN Red List criteria.
• The plant was discovered during ongoing studies on Amaranthaceae, the plant family to which the genus Allmania belongs.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The partial solar eclipse or Surya Grahan on October 25 marks the last solar eclipse of the year. The eclipse will be visible from parts of Europe, Northern Africa and large parts of western and central Asia. Most of India was able to view the solar eclipse, apart from some parts in the Northeast.

Solar Eclipse

• During a solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, stopping some of the Sun’s light from reaching our planet.
• Typically, there are three kinds of solar eclipses—

• Total solar eclipse: During a total eclipse, the Moon will completely cover the Sun.
• Annular eclipse: During an annular solar eclipse, the Moon will not fully cover the Sun but will leave an edge visible.
• Partial solar eclipse: During a partial solar eclipse the Sun will be partly covered by the Moon as it passes in front of it.

The type of eclipse we experience depends on the type of shadow that is involved.

• Both the Moon and Earth cast 3 shadows: umbra, penumbra, and an antumbra.

• The umbra is a shadow’s dark core: It means If you are standing within the umbra, you will not be able to see any part of the light source as the object blocks all direct light rays.
• The penumbra is a half-shadow that occurs when a light source is only partly covered by an object
• Antumbra: the lighter part of the shadow that begins where the umbra ends.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

The Samburu people in northern Kenya’s Marsabit county are pastoralists. They migrate from place to place in search of pasture and water for their cattle, goats, sheep and camels.

• Young warriors called lmurran express themselves by painting images on the rocks. 
• This is one of very few ongoing rock art traditions in the world, but it has gained almost no attention among rock art researchers.
• Linnaeus University in Sweden and the University of Western Australia initiated a community-led project together with the Samburu to learn about their rock art tradition.

About

• This is one of very few ongoing rock art traditions in the world and therefore, presents a unique chance to know where, when, and why rock art was created.
• Samburu rock art tradition commemorates real-life events related to the warrior life-world. They express the wishes and expectations of the young men and is made as a leisure activity.
• Dancing is an important part of Samburu culture and some paintings depict boys and girls dancing together.
• While there are indeed many rituals in Samburu culture, rock art is not part of such practices.
• Certainly, there are norms guiding the creation of the rock art, but the artist is free to express himself if the images reflect young men’s experiences.

About Samburu Art

• The images are made using red, white, yellow and black paint.
• Before the arrival of Europeans in the 1940s the artists preferred a pigment of red ochre, which was also used for smearing their hair and bodies.
• The white colour was animal fat, which turns light when it dries. To make black paint they used charcoal.
• As a binder, all pigments were mixed with fat from slaughtered animals.
• Today, commercial paint is also used along with more traditional pigments.
• The oldest rock art the elders remembered was more than 150 years old.
• When visiting the rock art sites, we saw an intriguing relationship between rock art made by different generations of warriors. Present warriors are inspired by older art, but add their own memories and style and sometimes also the names of the artists.
• The images become an inter-generational visual culture that reflects and recreates a warrior identity and lifestyle.
• The artists always have specific people, animals and objects in mind when making their drawings. This is not clearly expressed in the drawings as they lack identifying details.
• Studying the images doesn’t reveal the artist’s intention. Many of the artworks reflect first hand experiences of the warriors. A bull figure, for example, depicts a bull they slaughtered and ate.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) heaviest rocket Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3 or GSLV Mark 3) which took off from the second launch pad (SLP) of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota has successfully orbited 36 satellites of U.K.-based OneWeb.

• This is OneWeb’s 14th launch, bringing the constellation to 462 satellites. 
• This launch represents more than 70% of its planned 648 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity worldwide.

LVM3-M2

• The 43.5 metre LVM3 weighing around 644 tonne carried 36 satellites weighing 5,796 kg or about 5.7 tonne. 
• With this launch, LVM3 has made its entry into the global commercial launch service market.
• The LVM3 was conceived primarily for launching geo-stationary satellites with a payload capacity of 4T, which can be used for launching 6T payloads for LEO.
• The mission is very critical to meet the customer’s expectations to launch 36 satellites in 9 phases with precision. The mission was designed in such a way that C25 stage was to handle this operation using in-house built inertial navigation systems.
• With this launch, LVM3 has made its entry into the global commercial launch service market.
• LVM3-M2 is the dedicated commercial satellite mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Department of Space, Government of India. 
• This mission is being undertaken as part of the commercial arrangement between NSIL and m/s Network Access Associates Limited (m/s OneWeb Ltd), a U.K. based company. 

OneWeb

• OneWeb is a joint venture between India’s Bharti Enterprises and the U.K. government.
• With only four more launches to go, OneWeb remains on track to activate global coverage in 2023, while its connectivity solutions are already live in regions north of 50-degrees latitude.
• This partnership with NSIL and ISRO demonstrates OneWeb’s commitment to provide connectivity across the length and breadth of India by 2023.
•  From Ladakh to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, OneWeb will bring secured solutions not only to enterprises but also to towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the hardest-to-reach areas across the country.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

In absolute terms, credit outstanding stood at ₹128.6 lakh crore as of October 07, 2022, rising by ₹19.6 lakh crore over the last 12 months: CareEdge report.

• Increase is due to a low base, retail credit, higher demand for working capital requirements amidst high inflation, and low funds raised in the capital market.

Weighted Average Call Rate (WACR)

• Call money rate is the rate at which short term funds are borrowed and lent in the money market.
• The duration of the call money loan is 1 day.
• Banks resort to these types of loans to fill the asset liability mismatch, comply with the statutory CRR and SLR requirements and to meet the sudden demand of funds.
• RBI, banks, primary dealers etc are the participants of the call money market.
• Demand and supply of liquidity affect the call money rate. A tight liquidity condition leads to a rise in call money rate and vice versa.
• It represents the unsecured segment of the overnight money market.
• It was explicitly chosen as the operating target of monetary policy in India.

Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) for MSMEs.

• • To mitigate the economic distress being faced by about 45 lakh MSMEs by providing them additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore in the form of a fully guaranteed emergency credit line. 
  • All MSME borrower accounts with outstanding credit of up to Rs.25 crore as on 29th February,2020 and with annual turnover of up to Rs.100 crore would be eligible for the scheme.They can get up to 20% fresh loans of their entire outstanding credit.
  • National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) will provide 100% guarantee against losses on loans advanced to eligible MSMEs and MUDRA borrowers.
  • The loan will be provided for four years with a moratorium of one year on the principal amount.
  • The Interest rates under the Scheme are capped at 9.25% for banks and financial institutions and at 14% for non-banking financial companies(NBFCs)

• Benefits of the Scheme

• The scheme is expected to provide credit to the sector at a low cost, thereby enabling MSMEs to meet their operational liabilities and restart their businesses and recover early.
• The Scheme is expected to have a positive impact on the economy and support its revival.