Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

In a study, astronomers have reported a fast radio burst (FRB) whose characteristics are different from almost all other FRBs previously detected, except one.

• FRBs are bright flashes of light that appear for a few milliseconds and then vanish. Since the first FRB was discovered in 2007, 140 more were discovered until June 2021
• The new study in Nature describes FRB 20190520B, first discovered in 2019, is different is different from other FRBs, it emits frequent, repeating bursts of radio waves. And between bursts, it constantly emits weaker radio waves.
• Only one FRB has been previously observed to behave this way. Called FRB 121102, that was discovered in 2012.
• Calling the behaviour strange the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) stated that the discovery raises new questions about the nature of these mysterious objects and also about their usefulness as tools for studying the nature of intergalactic space.

What are Fast Radio Bursts?

• Fast Radio Bursts are brief (few millisecond) bursts of radio waves coming from far beyond our Milky Way galaxy.
• The phenomenon was first reported in 2007
• A defining property of these bursts is their dispersion the bursts produce a spectrum of radio waves, and as the waves travel through matter, they spread out or disperse with bursts at higher radio frequencies arriving at telescopes earlier than those at lower frequencies.
• This dispersion allows researchers to learn about two important things:
• They can measure this dispersion to learn about the stuff that radio bursts pass through as they travel toward Earth
• They can indirectly determine how far apart things are.

Origin of FRBs:

• FRBs have been spotted in various and distant parts of the universe, as well as in our own galaxy. Their origins are unknown and their appearance is highly unpredictable

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is currently facing a shortage in land for compensatory afforestation.

• This issue of shortage of land for compensatory afforestation was raised by the agency in a letter to the Union Environment Ministry in March
• The DDA, in its letter to the Union Environment Ministry, cited paragraph 2.3 (v) of chapter 2 of the Handbook of Forest Conservation Act, which states: “In exceptional cases where non-forest land for CA is not available in the same State/UT in which the diversion of forest land is proposed, land for CA can be identified in any other State/UTs, preferably in neighboring State/UTs.”

Forest Conservation Act 1980

• Alarmed at India’s rapid deforestation and resulting environmental degradation, the Centre Government enacted the Forest (Conservation) Act in 1980.
• The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 stipulated that central permission is necessary to practice sustainable agro-forestry in forest areas. Violation or lack of permit was treated as a criminal offense.
• An Advisory Committee constituted under the Act advises the Centre on these approvals.
• The Act deals with the four categories of forests, namely reserved forests, village forests, protected forests, and private forests.

Features

• Section 2 of the act lists four criteria where permission of the Central Government is required for any action of State regarding –
• Declaring that any reserved forest ceases to be reserved.
• Use of forestland for non-forest purposes.
• Leasing forest to any private person.
• Declaring that any forest land may be cleared of trees that have grown naturally in that land, for the purpose of using it for reforestation.
• Removing self-regenerating forest for the creation of plantation is also the non-forest purpose.
• Under the act compensatory afforestation has to be carried out for the diversion of forest land, or deemed forest land, for non-forest purposes.
• Agencies carrying out development works are required to compensate for the loss of “land by land” and loss of “trees by trees”.
• The land for CA has to be free of encroachments and legal tussles

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Turkish President Greece to demilitarise islands in the Aegean Sea

• Turkey says Greece has been building a military presence in violation of treaties that guarantee the unarmed status of the Aegean islands
• It argues the islands were ceded to Greece on the condition they remained demilitarised.
• Greece and Turkey are NATO allies, but the neighboring countries have a history of disputes over a range of issues, including mineral exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and rival claims in the Aegean Sea.
• Greece maintains Turkey has deliberately misinterpreted the treaties and says it has legal grounds to defend itself following hostile actions by Ankara, including a long-standing threat of war if Greece extended its territorial waters.

Aegean Sea

• It is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia.
• It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some 215,000 square kilometres.
• In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea by the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.
• The Aegean Islands are located within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

In a medical trial, 12 patients in the United States were completely cured of rectal cancer without requiring any surgery or chemotherapy.

• The trial used a monoclonal antibody called Dostarlimab every three weeks for six months for the treatment of a particular kind of stage two or three rectal cancer.
• The trial showed that immunotherapy alone – without any chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery that have been staples of cancer treatment – could completely cure the patients with a particular kind of rectal cancer called ‘mismatch repair deficient’ cancer”.
• No cases of progression or recurrence had been reported during the follow-up

What is this deficiency, and how was it cured?

• ‘Mismatch repair deficient’ cancer is most common among colorectal, gastrointestinal, and endometrial cancers.
• Patients suffering from this condition lack the genes to correct typos in the DNA that occur naturally while cells make copies.
• The immunotherapy belongs to a category called PD1 blockades that are now recommended for the treatment of such cancers rather than chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
• PD1 is a type of protein that regulates certain functions of the immune system, including by suppressing T cell activity, and PD1 blockade therapy looks to release the T cells from this suppression.
• By giving the PD1 blockades, we release and T cells to destroy the cancerous growth

If PD1 therapy was already in use, what’s new in the trial?

• Earlier, this therapy was used post-surgery, but the study has shown that a surgery may not be required.
• Although the therapy is usually used for cancers that have metastasised (spread to locations other than where the cancer formed), it is now recommended for all mismatch repair deficient cancers as they result in quicker improvement and lesser toxicity as compared to traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
• This study shows that even the surgery was not needed in these patients

Cost is a concern

• Immunotherapies are expensive and unaffordable for most people in India
• An immunotherapy treatment can cost around Rs 4 lakh per month, with patients needing the treatment for six months to a year.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for several capital acquisition projects of the Indian defence forces.

• This includes the procurement of next-generation Corvettes for the Indian Navy at an approximate cost of Rs 36,000 crore.

What is a Corvette?

• A Corvette is the smallest class of naval ships and it falls below the warship class of a frigate.
• These are highly agile ships and are categorised as missile boats, anti-submarine ships, coastal patrol crafts and fast attack naval vessels.
• The word corvette itself is derived from French and Dutch origin.
• Corvettes date back to the 18th and the 19th century when they were extensively used in the naval warfare duels that were fought at high seas
• During World War II, the term Corvette was used to describe vessels which had anti-submarine roles assigned to them.
• Modern Corvettes can go up to 2,000 tons in displacement which helps in keeping them agile.

What kind of Corvettes does the Indian Navy possess?

• The Indian Navy at present has the Kamorta Class Corvettes, which are also known as Project 28.
• These ships have an anti-submarine role and are manufactured at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata.
• The four Kamorta Class Corvettes that the Indian Navy possesses are named INS Kamorta, INS Kadmatt, INS Kiltan and INS Kavaratti.
• The first of these was commissioned in 2014 and the last one in 2020.

What new capabilities will the new generation Corvettes have?

• The next-generation Corvettes will be manufactured for various roles like surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, surface action group operations, search and attack and coastal defence.
• As per the AoN accorded by the DAC, these next-generation generation Corvettes will be constructed based on new in-house design of the Indian Navy using latest technology of ship buildings and would contribute to further the government’s initiative of Security and Growth for all in the region (SAGAR).

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

With the EV industry growing rapidly, the demand for lithium, an essential resource for EV battery makers, has surged along.

Significance:

It is estimated that if the entirety of ore from the African mines are extracted, it will be sufficient to meet the demand for at least 27.78 million vehicles with 60 kWh batteries.

 About Lithium

• It is a soft, silvery-white metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
• It is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in mineral oil. It is an alkali metal and a rare metal.

 Key Characteristics and Properties:

• It has the highest specific heat capacity of any solid element.
• Lithium’s single balance electron allows it to be a good conductor of electricity.
• It is flammable and can even explode when exposed to air and water.

Uses:

• Lithium is a key element for new technologies and finds its use in ceramics, glass, telecommunication and aerospace industries.
• The well-known uses of Lithium are in Lithium ion batteries, lubricating grease, high energy additive to rocket propellants, optical modulators for mobile phones and as convertor to tritium used as a raw material for thermonuclear reactions i.e. fusion.

Prescribed substance:

• The thermonuclear application makes Lithium as “Prescribed substance” under The Atomic Energy Act 1962 which permits AMD for exploration of Lithium in various geological domains of the country.
• Under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, “Prescribed Substance” means any substance including any mineral which the Central Government may, by notification, prescribe, being a substance which in its opinion is or may be used for the production or use of atomic energy or research into matters connected therewith and includes uranium, plutonium, thorium, beryllium, deuterium or any of their respective derivatives or compounds or any other materials containing any of the aforesaid substances.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Reserve Bank of India has proposed to allow the linking of credit cards with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

• RBI also stated integration will first begin with the indigenous RuPay credit cards.

What is the significance of the move?

• Experts believe that the linkage of UPI and credit cards could possibly result in credit card usage zooming up in India given UPI’s widespread adoption.
• The integration also opens up avenues to build credit on UPI through credit cards in India, where in the last few years, a number of startups have emerged
• The move could also be a push to increase adoption by banking on UPI’s large user base.
• So far, UPI could only be linked to debit cards and bank accounts.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI):

• It is an advanced version of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)- round–the-clock funds transfer service to make cashless payments faster, easier and smoother.
• UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application  merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
• UPI is currently the biggest among the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) operated systems including National Automated Clearing House (NACH), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), RuPay etc.
• The top UPI apps today include PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and BHIM, the latter being the Government offering.
• NPCI launched UPI with 21 member banks in 2016

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

Around 18,000 Kashmiri Pandits and other devotees visited the Kheer Bhavani temple in Kashmir Valley’s Ganderbal district on Jyeshtha Ashtami.

• The religious sanctity of the Mata Kheer Bhavani temple, built atop a holy spring, has a special spiritual significance among Kashmir Pandit devotees across the world.

About Kheer Bhavani temple

• Mata Kheer Bhavani temple at Tulmulla in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.
• The temple is dedicated to the goddess Ragnya Devi.
• Situated 30 km from Srinagar city, it is one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for Kashmiri Hindus.
• The temple gets its name from Kheer, or milk and rice pudding, that pilgrims pour into the spring inside the temple complex as an offering to the goddess.
• Legend has it that the water of the temple’s spring changes colour from white to red and black.
• The colour of the water is said to predict the impending future.
• Maharaja Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir and Maharaja Hari Singh contributed to building and renovating the temple.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

India and Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual logistics support

• Also signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’, which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation
• And agreed for early finalization of $US 500 million Defence Line of Credit extended to Vietnam.

What are Logistics agreements?

• Logistics agreements are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement simplifying logistical support and increasing operational turnaround of the military when operating away from India.

India- Vietnam Relations

• Relations between India and Vietnam have been governed by several areas of shared political interests.

Areas of Cooperation:

Economic ties:

• India is now the 8th largest trading partner of Vietnam.
• Vietnam is the 4th largest trading partner of India among ASEAN countries
• Vietnam is also the second largest export destination for India after Singapore in the ASEAN region.
• India is investing in development and capacity assistance for Vietnam through quick impact projects (QIP), proposals in the area of water resource management in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and digital connectivity.

Defence Cooperation:

• The relations between the two countries especially defence ties, benefited extensively from India’s Look East policy.
• Vietnam is interested in India’s Akash surface-to-air systems and Dhruv advanced light helicopters and Brahmos missiles.
• Apart from this, the defence relations include capacity building, dealing with common security concerns, training of personnel, and cooperation in defence R&D.
• Both countries reaffirm the strong India-Vietnam Defence cooperation which is a key pillar of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Strategic partnership:

• Bilateral relations were upgraded to a “Strategic Partnership” in 2017, and upgraded to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in 2016
• Cooperation in the UN Security Council has been exemplary. The shared respect for international law, including UNCLOS 1982, and a rules-based order is a strong commonality.

Cooperation at Multiple Fora:

• India and Vietnam closely cooperate in various regional forums such as East Asia Summit, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), and UNSC.

Tourism:

• Around 169,000 Indians visited Vietnam and over 31,000 Vietnamese visited India in 2019, recording a growth of 28% and 32% over 2018 respectively.
• India is a favored spiritual destination for many Vietnamese because it is home to many famous Buddhist temples

China factor:

• Both countries have border problems with China.
• China aggressively continues to encroach in the territories of the two countries.
• Hence, it is natural for both the countries to come closer with a view to restrain China from its aggressive actions.

Way Forward

• Mutual Co-ordination and Co-operation: Considering the unique challenges of Indo-Pacific region, both the countries should work in close coordination at multiple forums
• Promoting Common areas: India and Vietnam both can mutually benefit each other in the arena of Blue Economy and ocean security.
• Providing financial resources, improving connectivity and establishing good relations in the region, helps both the country to fight Chinese presence in the region

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Union Cabinet hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for 2022-23 Kharif season. The rates for 14 Kharif crops have been increased, the hikes ranging from 4% to 8%.

MSP

• The MSP is the rate at which the government purchases crops from farmers, and is based on a calculation of at least one-and-a-half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) recommends MSPs for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane.
• CACP is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• The mandated crops include 14 crops of the kharif season, 6 rabi crops and 2 other commercial crops.
• In addition, the MSPs of toria and de-husked coconut are fixed on the basis of the MSPs of rapeseed/mustard and copra, respectively.

Factors for Recommending the MSP:

The CACP considers various factors while recommending the MSP for a commodity, it considers following factors

• Cost of production
• Changes in input prices
• Input-output price parity
• Trends in market prices
• Demand and supply
• Inter-crop price parity
• Effect on industrial cost structure
• Effect on cost of living
• Effect on general price level
• International price situation
• Parity between prices paid and prices received by the farmers
• Effect on issue prices and implications for subsidy

Crops covered

The list of crops is as follows.

• Cereals (7) – paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi
• Pulses (5) – gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad and lentil
• Oilseeds (8) – groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soyabean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed and nigerseed
• Raw cotton
• Raw jute
• Copra
• De-husked coconut
• Sugarcane (Fair and remunerative price)
• Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco