Daily Prelims Notes 21 October 2021

October 21, 2021
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Daily Prelims Notes

21 October 2021

Table Of Contents

1. Africa’s melting glaciers fuel drought worries

Subject – Environment

Context – Africa’s melting glaciers fuel drought worries

Concept –

Africa’s fabled eastern glaciers will vanish in two decades, 118 million poor people face drought, floods or extreme heat, and climate change could shrink the continent’s economy by 3 per cent by mid-century, the UN climate agency warned.
The latest report on the state of Africa’s climate by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and African Union agencies paints a dire picture of the continent’s ability to adapt to increasingly frequent weather disasters.
- The report has been jointly published by the WMO, the African Union Commission and the Economic Commission for Africa through the Africa Climate Policy Centre, international and regional scientific organizations and United Nations agencies.
The report says last year was Africa’s third warmest on record, according to one set of data, 0.86 degrees Celsius above the average in the three decades leading to 2010.
- It has mostly warmed slower than high-latitude temperate zones, but the impact is still devastating.
The report came as African countries demanded a new system to track funding from wealthy nations that are failing to meet a $100-billion annual target to help the developing world tackle climate change
The report forecast that at current rates all three of Africa’s tropical ice fields —Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro, Kenya’s Mount Kenya, and Uganda’s Rwenzoris, which are often identified as the location of the legendary Mountains of the Moon — would be gone by the 2040s.
- Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, lies on the Equator. Its summit is, however, snowbound throughout the year.
- The snow on Mt Kenya, the second-highest peak in Africa after Kilimanjaro, could disappear as soon as 2030, according to the report.
  - It will be one of the first peaks in the world to lose its glaciers to anthropogenic climate change, the report warned.
- The continent has surpassed the world on worrying indicators, according to the report.
  - It has warmed faster than the global average temperature over land and ocean combined. The period 1991-2020 was warmer than for the 1961-1990 period in all African sub regions. It was significantly higher than the warming during 1931-1960.
  - The year 2020 ranked between the third and eighth warmest year on record for Africa according to the report. These findings resonate with those of IPCC’s most recent assessment.
  - At least one out of every tenth person displaced in 2020 was in the East and Horn of Africa region.
  - By 2030, up to 118 million extremely poor people on the continent will be exposed to drought, floods and extreme heat. This will affect progress towards poverty alleviation and growth, according to the report.

2. ‘Earthshine’ levels show the planet is dimming

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Over the past two decades, scientists have been studying earthshine levels, something that Leonardo da Vinci also researched.

Concept –

Earthshine is apparent when you can faintly see the entire moon when the moon is actually only in its crescent phase. This dim illumination of the moon happens when light reflects off of the Earth.
Leonardo da Vinci was one of the first people to explain that sunlight bounces off the Earth, reflecting light onto the moon. Almost 600 years later, scientists still use this principle to study climate change.

The scientists measured the brightness of the Earth for 20 years by observing the amount of earthshine that reached the moon.
They found that, in the last two decades, the Earth is becoming dimmer. Our planet is not reflecting as much of the sun’s light as it used to. Overall, the reduction was about half of a watt of light, which is a lot and is important.

The Earth’s energy balance depends on clouds reflecting some of the sun’s energy reflected back into space. Overall, the Earth reflects about 30% of the sun’s light. The more sunlight that reaches the Earth, the more warming we are expected to see.
The research showed that low, bright clouds, which are the best for reflecting rays, have been disappearing in parts of the world.
The findings from the research noted that low, bright clouds off the west coasts of North and South America are much less abundant now than 20 years ago. This is also a region where the ocean has substantially warmed. The scientists think the reduction of these clouds is likely climate-related.
Many studies point to a long-term decline in sea ice (especially in the Arctic), ice on land, and tiny pollutants called aerosols — all of which scatter sunlight back into space to cool Earth.
A key term in this research is “albedo.” This refers to how much light the Earth’s surface reflects back out. Without those critical clouds, the albedo, or shininess, of the Earth is lower. This means that more heat is reaching the Earth.
With ice cover declining, Earth is absorbing more radiation. The extra radiation absorbed by Earth in recent decades goes toward warming the oceans and melting more ice, which can contribute to even more warming via a vicious feedback loop.
The scientists noted that much of the dimming of our planet occurred in the past 3 to 5 years of their study, which was a surprise after nearly 17 years of only minor dimming. Also, it’s worth noting that the study showed that there was no significant change in the energy output of the sun during the time they were conducting measurements and observations, so they have concluded that the change in brightness is due to events occurring on our Earth.
From 1998 to 2017, Earth’s reflectance declined about 0.5 percent.
That means the decline in Earth’s reflectance has, over that 20-year period, almost doubled the warming effect our planet experienced.

3. Bio-enzymes from kinnow

Subject – Environment

Context – some Punjab farmers are creating bio-enzymes from kinnow

Concept –

The start of kinnow season in Punjab also brings with it the falling fruit, which is considered a total waste by farmers. But this fallen fruit can prove a boon to improve soil, water, air, depleting ground water, water contamination and overall ecology.
- Not only can plant health be improved, it also helps prevent indiscriminate usage of chemical sprays of fungicides and bacterial diseases on crops, especially vegetables, tuber crops like potato and cereals.
- Farmers can collect these dropped fruits from their kinnow fields and prepare bio-enzymes (BEs) at a low cost.
- Around100 farmers in Punjab, especially in the kinnow belt, have started making BEs from this waste fruit — peel and ‘D’ grade, very small kinnows.

What are bio-enzymes?

Bio-enzymes are organic solutions produced through fermentation of organic waste including various fruits, vegetable peels and flowers, by mixing in sugar, jaggery/molasses and water.
It takes 60-100 days to ferment organic waste.
To fasten the fermentation, yeast can be used as culture to prepare it in 45-50 days.
BE’s also have a lot of usage in our daily lives.

Kinnow –

Kinnow is a year-long duration crop and the main harvesting period is from November-end to March, but some varieties of citrus fruit start coming into the markets in October.
Horticulture department experts say nearly 15-20 per cent (1.5 lakh to 2 lakh tonnes) of the total kinnow production falls from the tree before and during the harvesting period.
- Experts say the fallen fruit is a major challenge for kinnow farmers in the state as one needs to dig up small pits to bury them, otherwise the fallen fruit rot and invite a fly attack on the healthy fruit still on the plants.
But now, some farmers are using this waste kinnow to improve the pH level and soil fertility of their land by making BEs from this waste fruit.

Formula to prepare BEs

40 plastic drums having 500 litres capacity each (a one-time investment) to which added 99 kg kinnow, 33 kg jaggery and 330 litres water in each and tightened the lid, which needs to be loosened up for a few seconds every day for 30 days to release the gas due to fermentation process.
After 30 days, the lid is opened in the same manner on a gap of two days for two weeks and then the drum is kept air-tight and opened occasionally.
The bio-enzymes are finally ready in three and half months.
We can use it for a whole year in the form of spray on vegetables and mixing it with field irrigation.

Advantages –

Effect of citrus BEs on crop disease showed good results against bacterial diseases like black rot, bacterial canker on crops like cabbage broccoli, cauliflower, kale, turnip, tomato, radish and oilseeds etc. and showed good results on fungal diseases like collar rot, root rot, damping off and wire stem on the crops like rice, cereals, potato, tomato, sugar beet, cabbage, soya bean, cucumber etc. and it worked moderately on cotton, melon, onion, Banana, soyabean against wilt, crown rot like fungal diseases.
BEs have a lot of good microbes and one of the major methods which helps overall improvement of our ecology and helps in mitigating the imbalance, which has occurred due to overuse of chemicals, in our soil, air and water.
In a state like Punjab where water table is depleting fast and water contamination is also major issue, BEs can bring the soil back to life which helps in better water recharging and also stop the contamination of water by improving the health of soil.

4. Facebook wants to rebrand itself for the ‘Metaverse’

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Facebook plans to rename itself.

Concept –

For Facebook, the ‘rebranding’ isn’t just about a switch in the company name but a reflection of the company’s growing ambitions and focus on a new area: metaverse.
Facebook has already announced plans to invest $50 million as part of its efforts to create a ‘responsible’ metaverse. It also plans to create nearly new 10,000 jobs in Europe as part of its ‘metaverse’ ambitions.
Just like how Alphabet is now the parent company of Google, we could see a new parent company, under which Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and others operate.
Facebook’s attempt to rename is to align itself with the focus on building the metaverse, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg clearly sees as becoming a reality sooner or later.
And Facebook, which also owns the Oculus VR gaming platform, doesn’t want to be left behind in the race to be a part of the metaverse.

What is metaverse?

A simplistic way to look at the metaverse is as a parallel, virtual, world where users can have different identities, possessions and characters.
In the complex explanation, Metaverse is supposed to be the post-Internet world, a decentralised computing platform of sorts if you will, which is continuous, and live. It is an entirely digital economy, and the way most Silicon valley intellectuals see this, metaverse exists both in the digital and physical realm.
Interoperability is key to metaverse’s success.
The metaverse does not reset or pause or end, but continues indefinitely.
Metaverse is not something that just one company can build. Nor is Facebook the only one working on this. Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, has big plans for the metaverse using its unreal engine.

How will the metaverse really work?

Digital spaces, Virtual Reality games, a virtual world, or even just a game like Fortnite is not the metaverse.
The metaverse is being envisioned as a new world order really, where your services could be offered virtually in exchange for other virtual assets, or Cryptocurrencies. The way to look at it is that your existence will be enmeshed with the digital world in a much deeper, complex way.
Because everything and everyone is supposed to be a part of this, interoperability will be key. In order to ensure that the metaverse functions smoothly, it would require a rewriting of the current rules as they are for most of the internet services and functions.

5. Election of Deputy Speaker

Subject – Polity

Context – Hardoi MLA Nitin Agrawal was on Monday elected Deputy Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, which has barely five months left in its tenure.

Concept –

What does the Constitution say about the Deputy Speaker?

Article 93 says: “The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the House shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.”
Article 178 contains the corresponding position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a state.

Is it mandatory under the Constitution to have a Deputy Speaker?

Constitutional experts point out that both Articles 93 and 178 use the words “shall” and “as soon as may be” — indicating that not only is the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker mandatory, it must be held at the earliest.

What are the time-frame and rules for the election of the Deputy Speaker?

All that the Constitution says is the election must be held as soon as possible.
Generally speaking, the practice in both Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assemblies has been to elect the Speaker during the (mostly short) first session of the new House — usually on the third day after oath-taking and affirmations take place over the first two days.
The election of the Deputy Speaker usually takes place in the second session, even though there is no bar on having this election too in the first session of the new Lok Sabha/Assembly. But the election of Deputy Speaker is generally not delayed beyond the second session without genuine and unavoidable constraints.
In Lok Sabha, the election of Deputy Speaker is governed by Rule 8 of The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. According to the Rule, the election “shall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix”, and the Deputy Speaker is elected once a motion proposing his name is carried.
There are similar provisions in the State Legislative Assembly Rules.
Once elected, the Deputy Speaker usually continues in office until the dissolution of the House.
Under Article 94 (Article 179 for state legislatures), the Speaker or Deputy Speaker “shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the People”.
They may also resign (to each other), or “may be removed from…office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House”.

Do the powers of the Speaker extend to the Deputy Speaker as well?

Article 95(1) says: “While the office of Speaker is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker”.
After the first Speaker, G V Mavalankar, died in harness, M AnanthAyyangar officiated as Acting Speaker for the remaining tenure of the House (from March 7, 1956 till May 1957), and was then elected Speaker of the second Lok Sabha.
In general, the Deputy Speaker has the same powers as the Speaker when presiding over a sitting of the House. All references to the Speaker in the Rules are deemed to be references to the Deputy Speaker when he presides.
It has been repeatedly held that no appeal lies to the Speaker against a ruling given by the Deputy Speaker or any person presiding over a sitting of the House in the absence of the Speaker.

Does being Deputy Speaker protect an MP or MLA from the law of disqualification?

No — with one specific exemption.
- Para 5 of the Tenth Schedule (commonly known as the anti-defection law) says that a person who has been elected Speaker/ Deputy Speaker shall not be disqualified if he, by reason of his election to that office, voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party to which he belonged immediately before such election — and does not, so long as he continues to hold such office thereafter, rejoin that political party or become a member of another political party.
- This exemption applies to the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, Chairman/ Deputy Chairman of a state Legislative Council, and Speaker/ Deputy Speaker of a state Legislative Assembly as well.

Can courts intervene in cases of a delay in electing the Deputy Speaker?

A petition before the Delhi High Court has argued that the delay in the election of the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker violates Article 93 of the Constitution.
There is no precedent of a court forcing the legislature to elect the Deputy Speaker. However, experts said the courts do have jurisdiction to at least enquire why there has been no election to the post of Deputy Speaker, since the Constitution does envisage an election “as soon as may be”.
In general, the courts do not intervene in the procedural conduct of Parliament. Article 122(1) says: “The validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.”

6. Peak in Andaman and Nicobar Islands is named after Manipur

Subject – Geography

Context – On Sunday, the Union government rechristened Mount Harriet, a historical tourist spot in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, as ‘Mount Manipur’.

Concept –

The Union government rechristened Mount Harriet, a historical tourist spot in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, as ‘Mount Manipur’.
After the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, several Manipuris who had fought the British in the war, including Maharaja KulachandraDhwaja Singh, were exiled to the British penal colony in the Andaman Islands. Since the cellular jail (Kalapani) was yet to be built, Kulachandra and the prisoners were kept on Mount Harriet, a hillock in what is now the Ferragunj tehsil of South Andaman district.
According to a British-era document from the Manipur State Archives, 23 men, including King Kulachandra and his brothers, were “transported for life” to the Andamans. While some died there, Kulachandra was released and shifted elsewhere before his death.
- The 23 are considered war heroes in Manipur. That is why Mount Harriet is an important symbol of the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891.

Anglo-Manipur War of 1891

Considered an epoch in the history of Manipur, the Anglo-Manipur War was fought between the kingdom of Manipur and the British over a month in 1891.
The battle was triggered by a coup in the palace of Manipur, which had been marked by internal factionalism in the years leading up 1891. According to the Manipur State Archives website, the British government took advantage of the “internal dissension” among the princes of the royal family.
In 1886, when Surchandra inherited the throne from his father Chandrakirti Singh, the kingdom of Manipur was not under the British rule but had links with the crown through different treaties.
However, Surchandra ascension to the throne was controversial and his younger brothers — Kulachadra, Tikendrajit — revolted against him.
1890 coup by the rebel faction deposed Surchandra, and proclaimed Kulachandra, the next oldest brother, the king. Surchandra fled to Calcutta seeking British help to reinstate him.
Instead, the British dispatched James Quinton, the Chief Commissioner of Assam, with an army to Manipur. His mission was to recognise Kulachandra as the king under the condition that they be allowed to arrest the coup leader Crown Prince Tikendrajit and deport him from Manipur.
This aggressive imposition of British law in a sovereign state was rejected by the king, precipitating the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1891.
In the first phase of the war, the British surrendered and their officers — including Quinton — were executed in public. In the second phase, the British attacked Manipur from three sides, and finally capture the Kangla Fort in Imphal. Prince Tikendrajit and four others were hanged by the British, while Kulachandra, along with 22 others, were banished to the Andaman Islands.
Many say the war was described as a “blow to British prestige”. Despite their victory, it had led to the death of five important officers. In India, it was viewed as being part of the general uprising against British rule in the country, soon after after the Revolt of 1857.
The war led to Manipur officially becoming a princely state under the indirect rule of the British crown.

Mount Harriet

Mount Harriet is the third highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and served as the summer headquarters of the Chief Commissioner during British Raj.
It is believed to be named after British artist and photographer, Harriet Christina Tytler, who was the wife of Robert Christopher Tytler, a soldier who served in the British Indian Army. Between 1862 and 1864, Tytler was the superintendent of the penal colony at Port Blair.
District officials from South Andaman said Mount Harriet houses a colonial bungalow, which now functions as a forest guest house. Close by is the Mount Harriet National Park known for its wide variety of birds.

7. UNEP production gap report

Subject – Environment

Context – UNEP production gap report: Net-zero targets by countries are empty pledges without plans

Concept –

The climate crisis has become clearer than ever, but it has not been able to compel major emitters to improve action on the ground so far. Governments across the world are still planning to produce more than double the fossil fuels than what the world requires to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
This was flagged by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report released October 20, 2021.
The production gap to achieve the climate goal is the widest for coal: Production plans and projections by governments would lead to around 240 per cent more coal, 57 per cent more oil, and 71 per cent more gas in 2030 than global levels consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C.
The modelling analysis has considered carbon dioxides removal (CDR) technologies to be deployed widely and methane emissions and leakages to be arrested.

The most worrying factor is that almost all major coal, oil and gas producers are planning to increase their production till at least 2030 or beyond.
This has been fuelled by incremental capital flow towards fossil fuels in comparison to clean energy in the post novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) recovery phase. The Group of 20 countries has channelised $300 billion to fossil fuels since the beginning of the pandemic, and the sector is still enjoying significant fiscal incentives.

8. Vigyan Prasar workshops

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Bringing science to layman: VigyanPrasar workshops tries to rekindle public interest in science

Concept –

VigyanPrasar, an autonomous organisation under the Department of Science and Technology, has been working to kindle the public’s interest in science by using physical and multimedia touch points.
Public response for VigyanPrasar’s efforts to promote science communication through regional languages has always been immense and is likely to grow further.
The body plans to reach all district headquarters with field-level activities. Taking the baton forward would be numerous volunteers from various government, non-government, media and educational institutes.
The organisation conducted a day-long workshop to review and further plan its flagship project called Science Communication, Popularisation and Extension (SCoPE)-in-Indian Languages (also known as Vigyan Bhasha) at the India International Centre, New Delhi on October 20, 2021.
Participants from all over the country working in various languages under the project joined the meeting.
Besides Hindi and English, 50 SCoPE experts / representatives from Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Assamese, Maithili and Nepali origins attended it.
Eminent science communicators from different parts of the country came forward to plan actionable items and reviewed the work done so far. These included representatives from universities, science and technology centers as well as state S&T departments from across the country.
VigyanPrasar has chosen Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Assamese, Nepali, Maithili besides Hindi and English in its first phase of enhancing its science outreach programmes.
Project Vigyan Bhasha initiative has unleashed the science communication, popularisation and extension in chosen Indian languages in the last two years: From monthly popular science magazines to regular lectures on latest development and cutting edge research; from publication of popular science books to harnessing social media to capture the imagination of youth; from producing television programmes to the latest science news.
- Vigyan Bhasha would mobilise various agencies, both governmental and nongovernmental to create a national effort to develop materials in Indian languages.
One of the successful efforts under the project was the celebration of ‘Ramanujan Yatra — a nationwide popularisation effort to communicate the strife, struggle and glorious achievement of mathematician Ramanujan.
- It addressed the math phobia faced by many by presenting various facets of advanced mathematics in an intelligible way. Sensitising and training media people towards science communication helps position science news and popular science in print and television.
Capacity building programmes were conducted for media and journalism students as well as working journalists on ways to communicate science to the general public. These skill development programmes have attracted wide appreciation and demand.
Publication of popular science books in Indian languages on advanced topics has already commenced in a modest way.
In the years to come, the activities would be expanded into other languages, including tribal dialects in phase II. Together with resources persons and local support in the respective districts, VigyanPrasar is poised to become a torchbearer of science popularisation, under the umbrella of Project Vigyan Bhasha initiative.

9. Northern climes no longer safe haven for migratory animals

Subject – Environment

Context – Climate change effect: Northern climes no longer safe haven for migratory animals

Concept –

Unhindered warming of Earth has forced a change in several ecological patterns, and migration of terrestrial animals and birds to the Arctic during summer may be the latest casualty, according to a new report.
Moving to the northern regions is increasingly becoming less beneficial and potentially harmful to these migratory species, an analysis of 25 studies pointed out.
Each summer, thousands of birds, animals and insects travel long distances north for easy availability of food, less chances of contracting diseases and fewer predators. But rising temperatures in the Arctic region has turned this flourishing arrangement on its head.
Numerous Arctic and North temperate sites may now represent ecological traps or even worse degraded environments for diverse migratory animals, including shorebirds, caribou or butterflies.
The ultimate outcome of this crisis is a decline in the population of the migratory species for whom travelling to the north is instrumental to survival during the warm months, the paper noted.
Many birds, who traditionally seek refuge in the northern regions in summer, have incurred higher mortality of off springs due to dwindling food supply, the scientists wrote.
New parasites and pathogens have also emerged in the Arctic, according to the report. A combination of these local changes due to climate change have decreased the population of native prey, forcing the predators to turn to migratory individuals.
Lemmings and voles used to be the main food source for predators such as foxes in the Arctic. The milder winters can cause rain to fall on snow and then re-freeze, preventing the lemmings from reaching their food. Foxes eat the eggs and chicks of migratory birds as lemmings and voles reduce in numbers.
The rate of nest predation of Arctic migratory shorebirds has tripled over the last 70 years, in large part due to climate change.
The erosion of the natural advantages of migration will have a ripple effect that will alter “species composition, trophic food webs as well as the whole ecosystem functioning”, the researchers predicted.
Concerted conservation efforts of the breeding grounds in the Arctic and temperate regions in the north are the need of the hour, the authors wrote. They also called for identification of glaring problems at the stopover and wintering sites of migratory species.

10. The Global Threat Assessment report 2021

Subject – Governance

Context – Pandemic fuelled rise in child sexual abuse online: report

Concept –

The Global Threat Assessment report 2021, by WeProtect Global Alliance, launched on Tuesday, said COVID-19 had contributed to a significant spike in child sexual exploitation and abuse online.
WeProtect Global Alliance is a global movement of more than 200 governments, private sector companies and civil society organisations working together to transform the global response to child sexual exploitation and abuse online.
The findings show that in the past two years, the reporting of child sexual exploitation and online abuse has reached its highest level. “COVID¬19 created a ‘perfect storm’ of conditions that fuelled a rise in child sexual exploitation and abuse across the globe,” it stated.
The rise in child ‘self-generated’ sexual material is another trend that challenges the existing response, with the Internet Watch Foundation observing a 77% increase in child ‘self-generated’ sexual material from 2019 to 2020.
During the pandemic, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) indicated 106% increase in reports of suspected child sexual exploitation to its global CyberTipline. During the lockdown, there was a 95% rise in searches for child sexual abuse material, the NCMEC reported.
The report calls for prioritising prevention activities against abuse, creating safe online environments for children, besides calling on all with a role to protect children to work together to improve the response.

11. Maharishi Valmiki

Subject – History

Context – Spirit of Valmiki’s philosophy is under attack, says Rahul

Concept –

Valmiki Jayanti is also known as PragatDiwas.
It is celebrated every year on the full moon day (15th day) of Shukla Paksha in the Ashwin month, as per the Hindu calendar.
It’s said that Maharishi Valmiki was born on Ashwin Purnima as per the Hindu lunar calendar.
Valmiki was born as Agni Sharma to a Brahmin named Pracheta (also known as Sumali) of Bhrigugotra.
Maharishi Valmiki is also called the Adi Kavi or the first poet in the Sanskrit language.
He is also responsible for writing the first-ever Sanskrit shlokas.
It is believed that Maharishi Valmiki, who lived in TretaYug, learned the story of Lord Rama from Narad Muni, and under his guidance, he wrote the epic Ramayana.
The Ramayana, originally written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 shlokas and seven cantos (kandas).
He is also believed to be the author of Yoga Vasistha, a text that elaborates on a range of philosophical issues.
VishnudharmottaraPurana says that Valmiki reincarnated as Tulsidas, who composed the Ramcharitamanas, which was the Awadhi-Hindi version of the Ramayana.
British satirist Aubrey Menen says that Valmiki was “recognized as a literary genius,” and thus was considered, “an outlaw,” presumably because of his “philosophic scepticism,” as part of an “Indian Enlightenment” period.
Valmiki is also quoted as being the contemporary of Rama.
Menen claims Valmiki is “the first author in all history to bring himself into his own composition.”

12. C TAP

Subject – International Relations

Context –WHO praising India for record vaccination

Concept –

In May 2020, WHO and partners launched the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) to facilitate timely, equitable and affordable access of COVID-19 health products by boosting their supply. C-TAP provides a global one-stop shop for developers of COVID-19 therapeutics, diagnostics, vaccines and other health products to share their intellectual property, knowledge, and data, with quality-assured manufacturers through public health-driven voluntary, non-exclusive and transparent licenses.
By sharing intellectual property and know-how through the pooling and these voluntary agreements, developers of COVID-19 health products can facilitate scale up production through multiple manufacturers that currently have untapped capacity to scale up production.
It‘s goal is making vaccines and other medical technologies truly global public goods.

Read Further: Public good: https://optimizeias.com/public-good/

Banks easing stance towards crypto transactions in last three to four months

One of the problems for the Indian trading platforms has been the lack support from banks or banking systems. Several trading platforms have complained in the past that banks frequently end their tie-ups with them which stops these platforms from making transactions in the right way. This is also the reason why there are frequent issues with deposits and withdrawals on these platforms.
The lack of regulatory certainty continues to be a challenge to some extent, but there is now more of an understanding towards the sector.
With growing investor interest in cryptocurrencies, a number of banks had, earlier this year, warned users about virtual currency transactions, citing the Reserve Bank of India’s2018 circular. However, the RBI had, on May 31, asked regulated entities to not cite its April 2018 circular on ‘prohibition on dealing in virtual currencies’ as it is no longer valid following the Supreme Court ruling.
It had also asked them to continue to carry out customer due diligence processes in line with regulations governing standards for Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and obligations of regulated entities under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.