Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Addressing the inaugural event of Asia’s largest Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plant in Lehragaga, Sangrur, Punjab, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs said that this plant in Sangrur is just the beginning of India’s master plan for a CBG-based rural economy.

• The Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plant in Sangrur is a step in achieving objectives of the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme, which was launched by Government of India in October 2018 to establish an ecosystem for production of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) from various waste/ biomass sources in the country. 
• The scheme aims to empower and unleash the rural economy by supporting farmers, increase India’s domestic energy production and self-sufficiency and also reduce the air pollution, and help India lead the world toward a clean energy transition. 
• Apart from this plant, 38 CBG / Biogas Plants have been commissioned under the SATAT initiative.
• The efforts being made to encourage the indigenous manufacturing of CBG Plant equipment such as Cascades, Compressors & Dispensers.
• The scheme aims to empower and unleash the rural economy by supporting farmers, increase India’s domestic energy production and self-sufficiency and also reduce the air pollution, and help India lead the world toward a clean energy transition.

Compressed Biogas(CBG)

• It is a purified form of biogas.
• It is the mixture of hydrocarbon gases and vapours consisting mainly of Methane in gaseous form.
• It can be produced from waste including municipal solid waste, sludge from wastewater treatment plants, market residues, agricultural residues, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud among others.

Process of Producing CBG: 

CBG from biomass involves a two-pronged approach.

• First Step: Biogas is produced through the anaerobic decomposition of biomass.
• Anaerobic Process: In this process, microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste or to produce fuels.
• Second Step: Biogas contains 55 to 60% methane, 40 to 45% carbon dioxide (CO2) and trace amounts of hydrogen sulphide. The second process involves purifying the gas to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide gases to prepare CBG.

CBG different from Compressed Natural Gas(CNG)

• Chemically, CBG is the same as CNG — both are compressed methane — and have the same calorific value.
• But, CNG is a by-product of petroleum, and CBG can be produced from any biomass, be it crop residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal wet waste, or effluents from a sewage treatment plant.
• Hence, this makes CBG a commercially viable option as it can be directly used to replace CNG in transportation fuel. Just like CNG, CBG too can be transported through cylinders or pipelines to retail outlets.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that the indigenous ballistic missile nuclear submarine INS Arihant had successfully launched a nuclear capable Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) in the Bay of Bengal with “very high accuracy”.

The Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs)

• The Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), sometimes called the ‘K’ family of missiles, have been indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 
• The family is codenamed after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the centre figure in India’s missile and space programmes who also served as the 11th President of India.
• Because these missiles are to be launched from submarines, they are lighter, more compact and stealthier than their land-based counterparts, the Agni series of missiles which are medium and intercontinental range nuclear capable ballistic assets.
• Part of the K family is the SLBM K-15, which is also called B-05 or Sagarika. It has a range of 750 km. 
• INS Arihant can carry a dozen K-15 missiles on board. 
• India has also developed and successfully tested K-4 missiles from the family, which have a range of 3,500 km.
• It is also reported that more members of K-family reportedly carrying the code names K-5 and K-6, with a range of 5,000 km and 6,000 km respectively are under development.

INS Arihant (the submarine)

• Launched in 2009 and Commissioned in 2016, INS Arihant is India’s first indigenous nuclear powered ballistic missile capable submarine built under the secretive Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project, which was initiated in the 1990s.
• INS Arihant and its class of submarines are classified as ‘SSBN ’, which is the hull classification symbol for nuclear powered ballistic missile carrying submarines. 
• In November 2019, after INS Arihant completed its first deterrence patrol, the government announced the establishment of India’s “survivable nuclear triad”.
• The second submarine in the Arihant class, SSBN Arighat, is reported to have been launched in 2017, and said to be undergoing sea trials at present. 
• In addition, India operates 15 conventional diesel electric submarines (classified as SSK), and some more are on the way.

The Strategic Significance

• The successful user training launch of the SLBM by INS Arihant is significant to prove crew competency and validate the SSBN programme.
• A robust, survivable and assured retaliatory capability is in keeping with India’s ‘no first use’ commitment.
• These submarines can not only survive a first strike by the adversary, but can also launch a strike in retaliation, thus achieving ‘Credible Nuclear Deterrence’.
• The development of these capabilities is important in the light of India’s relations with China and Pakistan.
• China: The PLA Navy currently operates 6 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and 46 diesel-powered attack submarines (SSs).
• Pakistan: It Navy operates 5 diesel-electric submarines and 3 mini submarines of under 150 tonne displacement.

Arihant stressed on the strategic postures of ‘credible minimum deterrence’ and ‘no first use’ which are pivotal to India’s nuclear doctrine, made public in January 2003.

The key points in the doctrine made public at the time were: 

• Building and maintaining a credible minimum deterrent; 
• A posture of ‘no first use’ denoting that the nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or on Indian forces anywhere; 
• Nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to “inflict unacceptable damage”.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Hampi, Khajuraho on list for G20 culture track.

• As part of India’s G20 Presidency between December 2022 and November 2023, the Government is planning to host five key meetings focusing on the “culture track” at Khajuraho, Bhubaneswar, Hampi and Agra.
• These cities have been chosen mainly for well-known monuments and UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Taj Mahal and Agra Fort (UP), the Hindu and Jain temples of Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), the Konark Sun Temple around 65 km from Bhubaneswar (Odisha), and the sites at Hampi (Karnataka). 
• For the culture track, a G20 Secretariat has been set up in the Ministry of Culture, which will hire a professional agency “for research, documentation and coordination work for the G20 work-stream of culture.

G20 presidency also provides a fantastic opportunity for India to shape the global agenda on culture across multiple work streams and engagement areas. These include:

• Protection and restitution of cultural property
• Advancement of traditional cultural practices for sustainable living
• Promotion of cultural and creative industries for livelihood generation
• Preservation and dissemination of culture by leveraging technology.

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that was outlined in a constitution signed November 16, 1945. It promotes international collaboration in education, science, and culture to promote peace. 

UNESCO World Heritage Site

• A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by UNESCO for its special cultural or physical significance.
• The list of World Heritage Sites is maintained by the international ‘World Heritage Programme’, administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
• There are 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India.
• Dholavira and Ramappa Temple are the latest addition to the list under the ‘Cultural’ category. There are two more categories Natural and Mixed.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Prime Minister dedicated 75 digital banking units to the nation, taking forward an announcement that was made in the 2022-23 Union Budget.

What are these DBUs?

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the guidelines for DBUs, following the report of a working group of the Indian Banks Association (IBA). 
• A digital banking unit is a specialised fixed point business unit or hub, housing a certain minimum digital infrastructure for delivering digital banking products and services as well as servicing existing financial products and services digitally in self-service mode at any time.

Who will set up these DBUs?

• Commercial banks (other than regional rural banks, payment banks and local area banks) with past digital banking experience are permitted to open DBUs in tier 1 to tier 6 centres, unless otherwise specifically restricted, without having the need to take permission from the RBI in each case.

What services will be provided by these units?

• As per the RBI, each DBU must offer certain minimum digital banking products and services. 
• Such products should be on both liabilities and assets side of the balance sheet of the digital banking segment. 
• Digitally value-added services to conventional products would also qualify as such.
• The services include saving bank accounts under various schemes, current accounts, fixed deposit and recurring deposit accounts, digital kits for customers, mobile banking, Internet banking, debit cards, credit cards, and mass transit system cards, digital kits for merchants, UPI QR codes, BHIM Aadhaar and point of sale (PoS).
• Other services include making applications for and onboarding customers for identified retail, MSME or schematic loans. 
• This may also include end-to-end digital processing of such loans, starting from online application to disbursal and identified government-sponsored schemes that are covered under the national portal.

Neobanks

• Currently, fintechs operating as neobanks offer digital banking services but they do so in partnership with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). 
• Some of the neobanks offering services in India are Jupiter, Fi Money, Niyo, Razorpay X.
• Compared to conventional banks with online and mobile banking facilities, neobanks or digital banks excel at product innovation and offer far better digital solutions. 
• However, given the arrangement they have currently with NBFCs or scheduled banks to conduct the actual banking part, some in the industry have pegged these digital banks as “glorified digital distribution companies”.

Significance of DBUs

• Further financial inclusion
• Significantly improve banking experience for the citizens

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Last week, meat and seafood retailer Licious forayed into the marketing of “mock” chicken and mutton under a new UnCrave brand.

Plant Based Meat

• Plant-based” refers to products that bio-mimic or replicate meat, seafood, eggs, and milk derived from animals — by looking, smelling, and tasting like them.
• The variety like mutton samosas and also chicken nuggets, momos, and fries with the same prefix. 
• Beyond Meat’s patties, apart from using coconut oil to copy the melty beef fat of a real hamburger, apparently even bleed as they cook the “blood” coming from a beetroot juice-based liquid.
• Plant-based dairy products include ice-cream that isn’t simply frozen dessert that replaces milk fat with vegetable oil. 
• Even the proteins and other solids-not-fat ingredients are sourced from plants.

How are these made?

• Animal meat contains protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water, just like plants. 
• This biochemical similarity allows for finding analogues in the plant kingdom or making them through mechanical, chemical, or biological treatment of such ingredients.
• The challenge lies in replicating muscle tissue that plants don’t have.
• The unique spatial arrangement of proteins in these tissues is what creates the distinct texture of animal meat. 
• That’s why plant-based mutton samosas, kebabs or keema, having a simpler texture, are easier to make than larger whole cuts of animal meat such as chicken breasts and pork chops.
• As for plant-based dairy, the main products are milk from oats, almond, soyabean, coconut, and rice. 
• Among these, oat milk is considered the closest to regular milk in taste and texture. It is also thicker and creamier, as oats absorb more water than nuts or rice during soaking, and more of the grain gets strained for incorporation into the final product. 

How big is the industry?

• According to the Good Foods Institute at Washington DC, retail sales of plant-based animal product alternatives in the US stood at $7.4 billion in 2021. 
• While the industry has grown from $4.8 billion in 2018, it hasn’t lived up to the initial hype. 

What is the scope in India?

• Due to India’s significant vegetarian population, plant-based meat does not see much potential in India.
• Plant-based meat can have only a niche market relevant for the top 1%.”
• Most Indians take naturally to milk, which is a classic “superior food”.
• Both milk (which includes ghee, curd, butter, ice-cream and other dairy products) and, to a lesser extent, meat (which includes fish and prawn) are superior foods — unlike cereals and sugar, whose share in the value of consumption reduces with increasing incomes, making them “inferior foods”.
• Digestive concerns like lactose intolerance aren’t very serious in India and, at any rate, pale in comparison to the perception of milk as a wholesome food.
• “Plant-based beverages cannot compete with real milk either on nutrition, taste, or affordability.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Scientists have detected barium in the upper atmosphere of two giant exoplanets for the first time. 

About Exoplanet

• These exoplanets are two ultra-hot Jupiters WASP-76b and WASP-121b which orbit their host stars WASP 76 and WASP 121.
• The former is about 640 light-years away from the Earth and the latter around 900 light-years away.
• Ultra-hot Jupiters are a class of hot gaseous planets that matches the size of Jupiter. But they have short orbital periods, unlike Jupiter.
• Both WASP-76b and WASP-121b complete one orbit in two days. Surface temperatures in these bodies reach as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius. 
• These bodies have unique features owing to their high temperatures. For instance, WASP-76b experiences iron rain.

Findings

The scientists confirmed the presence of hydrogen, lithium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, vanadium, chromium, manganese and iron in the atmosphere of the WASP-76 b, in addition to barium.

• Additionally, the team found elements such as cobalt and strontium. They also found indications of titanium in the exoplanet.
• The presence of heavy elements at high altitudes in the atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters indicates that some unique atmospheric dynamics are at play.
• This discovery of barium is surprising because heavy elements like barium are expected to quickly fall into the lower layers of the atmosphere.

Barium

• Barium is a chemical element with the symbol Ba and atomic number 56.
• The element is used in metallurgy, and its compounds are used in pyrotechnics, petroleum production, and radiology.
• Soluble barium compounds are poisonous. In low doses, barium ions act as a muscle stimulant, and higher doses affect the nervous system, causing cardiac irregularities, tremors, weakness, anxiety, shortness of breath, and paralysis.
• Because of its high chemical reactivity, barium is never found in nature as a free element.
• Barium salts are used in fireworks to generate green lights.
• Barium, two and half times heavier than iron, is the heaviest-ever detected element.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The US Food and Drug and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a shortage of Adderall, medication used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There is not sufficient supply to continue to meet US market demand.

Adderall and its treatment for ADHD

• Adderall is the brand name for the formulation that consists of a combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine. 
• It is an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of ADHD and narcolepsy, a sleep condition that causes daytime sleepiness.
• The CDC states that symptoms can appear different at older ages, for example, hyperactivity can appear as extreme restlessness.
• Adderall belongs to the class of drugs known as stimulants and increases the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain.
• For people diagnosed with ADHD, Adderall can help improve focus, concentration, impulse control and hyperactivity, because of its effects on the central nervous system.
• It can also have the same effects on those who do not have ADHD.
• Adderall is classified as a Schedule II drug in the US, which means that while it has positive medicinal effects, there is a large potential for abuse.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• ADHD is one the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood, usually diagnosed at an early age and lasting into adulthood. 
• According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children with ADHD might have trouble paying attention or controlling impulsive behaviours, and can be overly active.
• Many adults remain undiagnosed, and symptoms can cause difficulty at work, home or relationships. 
• There are three different types of ADHD:

• Predominantly Inattentive Presentation
• Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation
• Combined Presentation

• The causes and risk factors for ADHD are unknown, but current research shows that genetics plays an important role.
• Other possible causes may include brain injury, exposure to environmental risks (e.g., lead) during pregnancy or at a young age, alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy, premature delivery, low birth weight, etc.

Amphetamines have been extensively abused. Tolerance, extreme psychological dependence, and severe social disability have occurred.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Union Environment Ministry announced a ₹50 crore scheme to incentivise industrialists and entrepreneurs to set up paddy straw pelletisation and torrefaction plants.

Stubble Burning

• Stubble burning refers to the practice of farmers setting fire to plant debris that remain in farms after harvest.
• Stubble burning is practised predominantly by farmers in north India.
• It is to be noted that, before the 1980s, farmers used to till the remaining debris back into the soil after harvesting the crops manually.
• Paddy stubble burning is practised mainly in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Punjab, Haryana, and UP.
• The problem is that about 75% or 20 million tonne is from non-basmati rice, which cannot be fed to cattle as fodder because of its high silica content.

About the scheme

• Paddy straw made into pellets or torrefied can be mixed along with coal in thermal power plants. 
• This saves coal as well as reduces carbon emissions that would otherwise have been emitted were the straw burnt in the fields, as is the regular practice of most farmers in Punjab and Haryana.
• New units set up would be eligible for government funding in the form of capital to set up such plants. 
• The estimated cost of setting up a regular pelletisation plant, which can process a tonne per hour, is ₹35 lakh. 
• Under the scheme, the Centre will fund such plants to a maximum of ₹70 lakh subject to capacity.
• Similarly, the cost of establishing a torrefaction plant is ₹70 lakh and under the scheme, is eligible for a maximum funding of ₹1.4 crore.
• Torrefaction is costlier but can deliver a product whose energy content is much higher and theoretically substitute for more coal in a power plant.
• This would be a “one-time only” scheme and regular pellet plants would be eligible for ₹40 crore of the overall pie.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is a statutory organization, constituted in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. 
• It is the apex organization in the country in the field of pollution control as a technical wing of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFC).
• It is also entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution Act 1981)
• It also serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• The functions of CPCB includes promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution and to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

 NASA scientists have succeeded in slightly altering the trajectory of an asteroid by using a spacecraft to slam into it.

• DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) was aimed at a 160-metre-wide asteroid Dimorphos, which was orbiting a larger asteroid Didymos, both of which were circling the sun, 11.2 million kilometres from the earth. 
• Since neither body would have come closer than about 6.4 million km of the earth in their lifetime, they did not pose any threat.
• However, DART was a test mission to see if this technique, known as kinetic impactor, would give the necessary ‘nudge’ to an asteroid and alter its course by a desired amount. 
• After studying the two bodies for nearly 10 days, NASA announced that the course of the smaller asteroid has indeed been altered a little.
• Initially, the orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos took 11 hours and 55 minutes. 
• After the impact, a 32-minute alteration in its orbital period has taken place — it is now 11 hours and 23 minutes only. 
• The reason for this test is to learn how to use the kinetic impactor technique to ‘nudge’ earth-bound asteroids out of the way, years before impact. 
• This is not a last-minute effort. A word of caution: all asteroids are not similar, so more tests have to be done to perfect this technique.

Utility

There is a need to develop this technique because an impact with even a small asteroid can have serious consequences. 

• The Chicxulub crater is a reminder of the impact of a 10 km wide large asteroid that fell on the earth 66 million years ago and wiped out nearly 75% of plant and animal life. 
• An impact with an asteroid even about 100 m wide can destroy a city the size of Chennai. 
• The other question is whether this technique can be used to deflect asteroids bearing rich bounties of minerals and moving them to closer locations from where these can be harvested. No country has made this an explicit aim till now.
• The U.S. is not alone in attempting this. 
• China has a plan to deflect a 40 m wide, earth-crossing asteroid named 2020PN1 by 2026. 

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

India ranks 107 out of 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index in which it fares worse than all countries in South Asia barring war-torn Afghanistan.

• The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. 
• GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators – undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality.
• The GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger, where zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.

Global Hunger Index

• The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels.
• Annual Report: Jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
• It was first produced in 2006. It is published every October. The 2022 edition marks the 17th edition of the GHI.
• It’s aim to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.

Indicators: The four indicators for the index are:

• Undernourishment (share of the population with insufficient caloric intake),
• Child Wasting (low weight for height, reflecting acute undernutrition) 
• Child Stunting (low height for age, reflecting chronic undernutrition) and
• Child Mortality rate under 5 years of age.

India’s Scenario

• India ranks 107 out of 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index in which it fares worse than all countries in South Asia barring war-torn Afghanistan.
• India’s score of 29.1 places it in the ‘serious’ category. India also ranks below Sri Lanka (64), Nepal (81), Bangladesh (84), and Pakistan (99).
• Afghanistan (109) is the only country in South Asia that performs worse than India on the index.
• India’s score of 29.1 places it in the ‘serious’ category.
• India’s child wasting rate (low weight for height), at 19.3%, is worse than the levels recorded in 2014 (15.1%) and even 2000 (17.15). This is the highest for any country in the world and drives up the region’s average owing to India’s large population.
• Prevalence of undernourishment has also risen in the country from 14.6% in 2018-2020 to 16.3% in 2019-2021. This translates into 224.3 million people in India considered undernourished.
• Child stunting and child mortality: India has shown improvement in child stunting, which has declined from 38.7% to 35.5% between 2014 and 2022. Similarly, child mortality has also dropped from 4.6% to 3.3% in the same comparative period.
• Overall, India has shown a slight worsening with its GHI score increasing from 28.2 in 2014 to 29.1 in 2022.