Daily Prelims Notes 14 May 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

14 May 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Finland is on the cusp of joining NATO while Sweden is on the verge of following suit
2. Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI)
3. Iron in Tamil Nadu 4200 years ago
4. WHO reform
5. RFID tags
6. ISRO tests booster for Gaganyaan
7. SCO anti-terror meet in Delhi
8. Onset of monsoon
9. CCMB develops Indian mRNA vaccine platform

1. Finland is on the cusp of joining NATO while Sweden is on the verge of following suit

Subject: IR

Section: International Organization

Context: Sweden to join NATO

Concept:

Background:

• While other Nordic countries like Norway, Denmark and Iceland were original members of the alliance, Sweden and Finland did not join the pact for historic and geopolitical reasons.
• Both Finland, which declared independence from Russia in 1917 after the Bolshevik revolution, and Sweden adopted neutral foreign policy stances during the Cold War, refusing to align with the Soviet Union or the United States.
• For Finland, this proved more difficult, as it shared a massive border with an authoritarian superpower. To keep the peace, Finns adopted a process some call “Finlandization,” in which leaders acceded to Soviet demands from time to time.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization:

• It is an intergovernmental military alliance.
• Established by Washington treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
• Headquarters — Brussels, Belgium.
• Headquarters of Allied Command Operations — Mons, Belgium.

Significance:

• It constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.

Composition:

• Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 30. The most recent member state to be added to NATO was North Macedonia on 27 March 2020.
• NATO membership is open to “any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.”

Objectives:

• Political – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
• Military – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.
• These are carried out under the collective defence clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.

NATO membership:

At present, NATO has 30 members. In 1949, there were 12 founding members of the Alliance: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. The other member countries are: Greece and Turkey (1952), Germany (1955), Spain (1982), the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland (1999), Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (2004), Albania and Croatia (2009), Montenegro (2017) and North Macedonia (2020).

2. Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI)

Subject: Economy

Section: Inflation

Concept:

It is a measure of change in retail prices of food products consumed by a defined population group in a given area with reference to a base year.

• The Central Statistics Office (CSO),Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) started releasing Consumer Food Price Indices (CFPI) for three categories -rural, urban and combined – separately on an all India basis with effect from May, 2014.
• Like Consumer Price Index (CPI), the CFPI is also calculated on a monthly basis and methodology remains the same as CPI.
• The base year presently used is 2012. The CSO revised the Base Year of the CPI and CFPI from 2010=100 to 2012=100 with effect from the release of indices for the month of January 2015.
• CFPI (Rural/ Urban/ Combined) is compiled as the weighted average of the Cereals and Productssub group of CPI for each of those categories – Rural/ Urban/ Combined. Modified weights of these Sub-groups within CFPI are as follows:

All India Weights of different Sub-groups within Consumer Food Price Index

Inflation rates (on point to point basis i.e. August, 2014 over August, 2013), based on general Indices and CFPIs, are issued by CSO.

Globally, food price index is being released by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The FAO Food Price Index is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities. It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices (Cereal, Vegetable Oil, Dairy, Meat and Sugar) weighted with the average export shares of each of the groups for 2002-2004.

After the revision of Whole Sale Price Index (WPI) with the new base year 2011-12, a new “WPI Food Index” is being compiled by combining the “Food Articles” under “Primary Articles” in WPI and “Food Products” under “Manufactured Products” in WPI. Together with the Consumer Food Price Index released by Central Statistics Office, this would help monitor the price situation of food items better.

3. Iron in Tamil Nadu 4200 years ago

Subject: History

Section: Art and culture

Context: Carbon dating of excavated finds in Tamil Nadu pushes evidence of iron being used in India back to 4,200 years ago.

Findings of the excavation:

• Excavation site: The excavations are from Mayiladumparai near Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu. Mayiladumparai is an important site with cultural material dating back between the Microlithic (30,000 BCE) and Early Historic (600 BCE) ages.
• Carbon dating of excavated finds in Tamil Nadu pushes evidence of iron being used in India back to 4,200 years ago.
• Before this, the earliest evidence of iron use was from 1900-2000 BCE for the country and from 1500 BCE for Tamil Nadu. The latest evidence dates the findings from Tamil Nadu to 2172 BCE.

Historical significance

• Iron is not known to have been used in the Indus Valley, from where the use of copper in India is said to have originated (1500 BCE). But non-availability of copper for technological and mass exploitation forced other regions to remain in the Stone Age.
• When iron technology was invented, it led to the production of agricultural tools and weapons, leading to production required for a civilisation ahead of economic and cultural progress.
• While useful tools were made out of copper, these were brittle and not as strong as iron tools would be. It would have been difficult to use copper tools to clear dense forests and bring land under agriculture, which is why scientists infer that deforestation took place only after humans began using iron.
• With the latest evidence tracing our Iron Age to 2000 BCE from 1500 BC, it can be assumed that TN cultural seeds were laid in 2000 BCE.
• And the benefit of socio-economic changes and massive production triggered by the iron technology gave its first fruit around 600 BCE, the Tamil Brahmi scripts.
• Tamil Brahmi scripts were once believed to have originated around 300 BCE, until a landmark finding in 2019 pushed the date back to 600 BCE. This dating narrowed the gap between the Indus Valley civilisation and Tamilagam/South India’s Sangam Age.

4. WHO reform

Subject: IR

Section: International Bodies

Concept:

About WHO –

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
• The WHO Constitution states its main objective as “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health”.
• Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.
• It is an inter-governmental organization and works in collaboration with its member states usually through the Ministries of Health.
• The WHO provides leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
• A publication, the World Health Report, provides assessments of worldwide health topics.

Its role in public health –

• providing leadership on matters critical to health and engaging in partnerships where joint action is needed;
• shaping the research agenda and stimulating the generation, translation, and dissemination of valuable knowledge;
• setting norms and standards and promoting and monitoring their implementation;
• articulating ethical and evidence-based policy options;
• providing technical support, catalysing change, and building sustainable institutional capacity; and
• monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.
• CRVS (civil registration and vital statistics) to provide monitoring of vital events (birth, death, wedding, divorce).

Governance –

• World Health Assembly
  • The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the legislative and supreme body of WHO.
  • Based in Geneva, it typically meets yearly in May.
  • It appoints the director-general every five years and votes on matters of policy and finance of WHO, including the proposed budget.
  • It also reviews reports of the executive board and decides whether there are areas of work requiring further examination.
• Executive Board
  • The Assembly elects 34 members, technically qualified in the field of health, to the executive board for three-year terms.
  • The main functions of the board are to carry out the decisions and policies of the Assembly, to advise it, and to facilitate its work.
• Director-General
  • The head of the organization is the director-general, elected by the World Health Assembly.
  • The term lasts for five years, and Directors-General are typically appointed in May, when the Assembly meets.

How WHO is funded?

• WHO gets its funding from two main sources: Member States paying their assessed contributions (countries’ membership dues), and voluntary contributions from Member States and other partners.
• Assessed contributions (AC) are a percentage of a country’s Gross Domestic Product (the percentage is agreed by the United Nations General Assembly). Member States approve them every two years at the World Health Assembly. They cover less than 20% of the total budget.
• The remainder of WHO’s financing is in the form of voluntary contributions (VC), largely from Member States as well as from other United Nations organizations, intergovernmental organizations, philanthropic foundations, the private sector, and other sources.
• Core voluntary contributions (CVC)
  • Core voluntary contributions are fully unconditional (flexible), meaning WHO has full discretion on how these funds should be used to fund the programmatic work of the Organization.
  • These represent 3.9% of all voluntary contributions.

5. RFID tags

Subject: Science

Section: Computer related

Context: Amarnath Yatra pilgrims to be tracked through

Concept:

• Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag attached to an object.
• RFID belongs to a group of technologies referred to as Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC). AIDC methods automatically identify objects, collect data about them, and enter those data directly into computer systems with little or no human intervention. RFID methods utilize radio waves to accomplish this.
• At a simple level, RFID systems consist of three components: an RFID tag or smart label, an RFID reader, and an antenna. RFID tags contain an integrated circuit and an antenna, which is used to transmit data to the RFID reader (also called an interrogator). The reader then converts the radio waves to a more usable form of data. Information collected from the tags is then transferred through a communications interface to a host computer system, where the data can be stored in a database and analyzed at a later time.

Possible applications:

• Asset Tracking
• People Tracking
• Document tracking
• Inventory management
• Asset tracking
• Personnel tracking
• Controlling access to restricted areas
• ID Badging
• Supply chain management
• Counterfeit prevention (e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry)
• Libraries
• Animal tracking

6. ISRO tests booster for Gaganyaan

Subject: Science

Section: Space

Context:

• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully carried out the static test of the HS200 solid rocket booster, taking the space agency one more step closer to the keenly awaited Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission
• Designed and developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram for over two years, the HS200 booster is the ‘human-rated’ version of the S200 rocket boosters used on the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle Mk-III (GSLV Mk-III), also called the LVM3. The GSLV Mk-III rocket, which will be used for the Gaganyaan mission, will have two HS200 boosters that will supply the thrust for lift-off. The HS200 is a 20-metrelong booster with a diameter of 3.2 metres and is the world’s second largest operational booster using solid propellant.

• The successful completion of this test marks a major milestone for the prestigious human space flight mission of ISRO, the Gaganyaan, as the first stage of the launch vehicle is tested for its performance for the full duration,”
• Since Gaganyaan is a manned mission, the GSLV Mk-III will have improvements to increase reliability and safety to meet the requirements of ‘human rating.’

GSLV or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

• The GSLV or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is classified as a Medium-Lift Launch Vehicle (MLLV) and is rated to carry a payload of 8,000 kg to LEO or Low Earth Orbit. An MLLV is defined as a vehicle that can take a payload of 2,000-20,000 kg to LEO.
• The GLSV program, which started in the early 2000s, was initially expected to carry satellites to GTO (Geostationary Transfer Orbit). This vehicle is powerful enough to go to the Moon and is capable of taking humans to space.
• Of the three propulsion stages of the GSLV Mk-III, the second stage uses liquid propellant while the third is a cryogenic stage.

Currently, the vehicle comprises three stages:

First stage: Two S200 boosters are strapped on to the core of the rocket. These boosters are the third-largest solid fuel boosters ever developed and the second largest in service. Only the now-retired Space Shuttle and the Ariane rockets used larger boosters. The S200s each carry 207 tonnes of propellant and deliver 5,150 kN of peak thrust.

Second stage: By far the most under-rated motor on the GSLV, the second stage rockets, designated L110, are liquid fuel rockets based on the French Viking engine. This engine was, in turn, jointly developed by Indian and French scientists. The version we use in India is called the Vikas engine.These engines carry about 116 tonnes of fuel and generate about 1,600 kN of thrust at sea level.

Third stage: The engine that makes the GSLV a GSLV is the third stage motor. A record-setter in its own right, this cryogenic engine is classified as one of the most powerful upper stage motors in the world.

It develops a thrust of 200 kN in vacuum and can operate for 640 seconds. For fuel, it uses a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, which are cooled to cryogenic temperatures (below -183ºC) and are thus in liquid form.

A cryogenic engine is extremely efficient as compared to a regular rocket motor, making it ideal for spacecraft. It’s also incredibly hard to develop, which is why only a handful of nations have succeeded in building one.

The average cost of a GSLV launch is estimated to be about Rs 400 cr or $62 mn, making it one of the cheapest launch vehicles in the world.

• Gaganyaan is a mission by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• Under the Gaganyaan schedule:
  • Three flights will be sent into orbit.
  • There will be two unmanned flights and one human spaceflight.
• The Gaganyaan system module, called the Orbital Module will have three Indian astronauts, including a woman.
• It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from earth for 5-7 days.
• Payloads:
  • Crew module –spacecraft carrying human beings.
  • Service module –powered by two liquid propellant engines.
  • It will be equipped with emergency escape and emergency mission abort.
• GSLV Mk III, also called the LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3,)the three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability.
• Training in Russia:
  • In June 2019, the Human Space Flight Centre of the ISRO and the Russian government-owned Glavkosmos signed a contract for the training, which includes Russian support in the selection of candidates, their medical examination, and space training.
  • The candidates will study in detail the systems of the Soyuz manned spaceship, as well as be trained in short-term weightlessness mode aboard the Il-76MDK aircraft.
    • The Soyuz is a Russian spacecraft. The Soyuz carries people and supplies to and from the space station.
    • The Il-76MDK is a military transport plane specially designed for parabolic flights of trainee astronauts and space tourists.

7. SCO anti-terror meet in Delhi

Subject: IR

Section: International Bodies

Context: China, Russia, Pak. to attend SCO anti-terror meet in Delhi

Concept:

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
• It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanisms.
• The SCO’s main goals are as follows: strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.
• The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation.
• The SCO Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once a year to discuss the organisation’s multilateral cooperation strategy and priority areas, to resolve current important economic and other cooperation issues, and also to approve the organisation’s annual budget.
• The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.
• The organisation has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.
• SCO comprises eight member states, namely India,  Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russian, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

8. Onset of monsoon

Subject : Geography

Section: Climatology

Context

• The southwest monsoon is likely to set in over Kerala on May 27, well ahead of its normal date of June 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Friday (May 13).
• If the forecast turns out to be accurate, this will be the earliest onset of the monsoon over Kerala since at least 2009. There can be “a model error of four days on either side”, according to IMD.

What does the “onset of monsoon” mean?

• The onset of the monsoon over Kerala marks the beginning of the four-month, June-September southwest monsoon season over India, which brings more than 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall.
• The onset of the monsoon is a significant day in India’s economic calendar.
• According to the IMD, the onset of the monsoon marks a significant transition in the large-scale atmospheric and ocean circulations in the Indo-Pacific region, and the Department announces it only after certain newly defined and measurable parameters, adopted in 2016, are met.
• IMD checks for the consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, its intensity, and wind speed.

Factors responsible for onset of monsoon:

In general, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands start receiving monsoon rainfall between May 15 and May 20 every year, and it usually starts raining along the Kerala coast in the last week of May. However, the onset is not officially declared until the prescribed conditions (below) are met.

Rainfall:

• The IMD declares the onset of the monsoon if at least 60% of 14 designated meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep record at least 2.5 mm of rain for two consecutive days at any time after May 10.
• In such a situation, the onset over Kerala is declared on the second day, provided specific wind and temperature criteria are also fulfilled.
• The 14 enlisted stations are: Minicoy, Amini, Thiruvananthapuram, Punalur, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Mangalore.

Wind field:

• The depth of westerlies should be upto 600 hectopascal (1 hPa is equal to 1 millibar of pressure) in the area bounded by the equator to 10ºN latitude, and from longitude 55ºE to 80ºE.
• The zonal wind speed over the area bound by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-80ºE longitude should be of the order of 15-20 knots (28-37 kph) at 925 hPa.

Heat:

• According to IMD, the INSAT-derived Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) value (a measure of the energy emitted to space by the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere) should be below 200 watt per sq m (wm2) in the box confined by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-75ºE latitude.

Is it unusual for the monsoon to hit the Kerala coast early?

• Neither early nor late onset of the monsoon is unusual, even though the forecast for this year is for earlier than would be usually expected.
• In 2018 and 2017, the onset over Kerala occurred on May 29 and May 30 respectively. In 2010, onset occurred on May 31. In 2020 and 2013, the monsoon was exactly on time, hitting the Kerala coast on June 1.
• In the rest of the years going back to 2010, the onset was delayed. In 2019, the IMD had announced a delay of six days, and predicted the onset for June 6. The monsoon finally set in over Kerala on June 8, 2019.

Does an early onset foretell a good monsoon?

• No, it does not — just as a delay does not foretell a poor monsoon. The onset is just an event that happens during the progress of the monsoon over the Indian subcontinent.
• A delay of a few days, or perhaps the monsoon arriving a few days early, has no bearing on the quality or amount of rainfall, or its regional distribution across the country, during the four-month monsoon season.
• In a recent year, the onset of the monsoon occurred two days in advance of the normal date, and it rained heavily for about 10 days after that — however, the season as a whole ended with 14% less rain than normal.
• On April 14 this year, the IMD released its first Long Range Forecast (LRF) for this year, in which it predicted a “normal” monsoon — which means rainfall is likely to be in the range of 96% to 104% of the long period average (LPA) of the 1971-2020 period. The average annual rainfall for the country as a whole in the southwest monsoon season during this period was 87 cm.

And does a delayed onset mean cascading delays across the country?

• A delay in onset over Kerala can potentially delay the arrival of the monsoon in other parts of the country, especially in the southern states, which normally start getting rain within days of the monsoon reaching the Kerala coast.
• However, a delayed onset over Kerala does not automatically or invariably mean delays in the arrival of the monsoon over the entire country.
• The northward progression of the monsoon after it has hit the Kerala coast depends on a lot of local factors, including the creation of low pressure areas.
• It is possible that despite a late onset over Kerala, other parts of the country start getting rain on time.

9. CCMB develops Indian mRNA vaccine platform

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Health

Context: mRNA vaccine and robust immune response

Concept: A vaccine’s goal is to train the body’s immune system to defend against disease. Many vaccines use a weakened or dead version of the actual virus to stimulate an immune response. In contrast, mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccines use a genetic code to tell the body’s cells to produce proteins that the immune system recognizes as the virus.

• The part of the mRNA that encodes a protein, plugging in new code specific to the virus to protect against, and causes one’s body to produce proteins that match that virus’ proteins.
• The mRNA vaccine promises to deal with other infectious diseases such as TB, dengue, malaria, chikungunya, rare genetic diseases, and others.
• This technique ha as rapid turnaround time, which means vaccines can be developed for other diseases or a pan-COVID vaccine covering different variants
• Binding to the ACE2 receptor is a critical initial step for SARS-CoV to enter into target cells. Recent studies also highlighted the important role of ACE2 in mediating entry of SARS-CoV-2. HeLa cells expressing ACE2 are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection whereas those without ACE2 are not.
• The COVID-19 spike protein in mice upon administration of two doses of the mRNA vaccine. “The anti-spike antibodies generated were found to be more than 90% efficient in preventing the human ACE2 receptor binding to the coronavirus
• Measuring anti-spike protein antibodies in human plasma or serum is commonly used to determine prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and to assess the anti-viral protection capacity.
• The mRNA vaccine candidate is now undergoing preclinical hamster challenge studies to evaluate the efficacy to protect against live virus infection.