Daily Prelims Notes 27 October 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

27 October 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Mangarh Dham
2. Bank notes
3. Abuse of dominance
4. Liquidity in system
5. Rising interest rate
6. UNSC’s Counter Terrorism Committee to meet in India
7. Nalanda varsity to offer course on Bay of Bengal
8. In China- the first inhalable vaccine against Covid-19: Can needle-free work?
9. Understanding GM mustard: what is it and how has it been achieved?
10. Prevention better than cure: Why World Bank bats for One Health to combat pandemics
11. Dirty Bomb Attack: Russia -Ukraine War
12. Countries’ targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions insufficient: UNFCCC
13. National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC)
14. Deepavali Day Pollution

1. Mangarh Dham

Subject: History

Context:

• Rajasthan Chief Minister has sought the declaration of the memorial for tribals as a monument of national importance.

Concept:

• Mangarh Dham is known for the massacre of tribals by the British Indian Army in 1913.
• It is located in the district on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border, a region with a large tribal population.
• Social reformer Govind Guru led the gathering of tribals and forest dwellers in 1913 in Mangarh against the British Raj.
• Monuments and protected areas declared as of national importance under sections 3 and 4 under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010.

2. Bank notes

Subject: Economy

Contest:

Several Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders asked the government to put pictures of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh on currency notes in order to bring “prosperity” to the country.

Concept:

Indian bank notes and coins:

• Section 22 of The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934–RBI the “sole right” to issue banknotes in India.
• The Coinage Act, 2011 gives the central government the power to design and mint coins in various denominations.
• Banknotes in denominations of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200, Rs 500, and Rs 2,000 are currently being issued.
  • Notes of Rs 2 and Rs 5 are no longer issued however, older notes still remain in circulation and continue to be legal tender.
  • Re 1 notes are issued by the Government of India from time to time and such notes including those issued in the past also continue to be legal tender for transactions.
  • In terms of Section 24 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, bank notes shall be of the denominational values of two rupees, five rupees, ten rupees, twenty rupees, fifty rupees, one hundred rupees, five hundred rupees, one thousand rupees, five thousand rupees and ten thousand rupees or of such other denominational values, not exceeding ten thousand rupees, as the Central Government may, on the recommendation of the Central Board, specify in this behalf.

Changes in the design and form of bank notes and coins –by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the central government.

• Section 25 of the RBI Act, 1934—The design, form and material of bank notes shall be such as may be approved by the Central Government  after consideration of the recommendations made by Central Board of the RBI.
• The RBI’s Department of Currency Management– internally works out a design, which is put before the RBI’s Central Board for approval and it recommends the changes  to the central government. The government gives the final approval.

How does RBI’s currency management work?

• The Department of Currency Management in the RBI has the responsibility of administering the functions of currency management, a core function of the Reserve Bank in terms of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
  • The RBI’s Department of Currency Management is responsible for the core function of currency management which includes designing of banknotes; forecasting demand for notes and coins; ensuring smooth distribution of banknotes and coins throughout the country and retrieval of unfit notes and uncurrent coins from circulation; ensuring the integrity of bank notes etc
• Notes that are received back from circulation are examined, those fit for circulation are reissued, while the soiled and mutilated notes are destroyed.
• The Reserve Bank in consultation with the central Government and other stakeholders, estimates the quantity of banknotes that are likely to be needed denomination-wise in a year, and places orders with the various currency printing presses for their supply.
• Currency note printing presses:
  • Nasik and Dewas-owned by the Government of India through its Corporation, Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd. (SPMCIL);
  • Mysore and Salboni- owned by the RBI through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Ltd (BRBNML).
• Coins are minted in four mints owned by SPMCIL. The mints are located at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and NOIDA.
  • The coins are issued for circulation only through the Reserve Bank in terms of Section 38 of the RBI Act.
• Distribution:
  • The Reserve Bank presently manages the currency operations through its 19 Issue Offices. Further, a wide network of currency chests maintained and managed by scheduled banks are part of currency management architecture.
  • The Issue Offices receive fresh banknotes from the currency printing presses which in turn send fresh banknote remittances to the currency chests. Direct remittances by the presses to the currency chests also happen.
  • The bank branches receive the banknotes and coins from the Currency Chests and Small Coin Depots for further distribution among the public

What are the types of notes issued so far?

• Ashoka Pillar Banknotes–While retaining the existing design, the new banknotes replaced the portrait of King George with the symbol of the Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath in the watermark window.
• Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Series, 1996-All the banknotes of this series bear the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on the obverse (front) side, in place of the symbol of Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar, which was moved to the left, next to the watermark window. These banknotes contain both the Mahatma Gandhi watermark as well as Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait.
• Mahatma Gandhi series, 2005: issued in denominations of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500, and Rs 1,000 with some additional/ new security features. The Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes of this series were withdrawn w.e.f. the midnight of November 8, 2016.
• Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, 2016–highlight the cultural heritage and scientific achievements of the country with reduced dimensions and are more wallet friendly.
  • Rs 10 — Konark Sun Temple, Odisha.
  • Rs 50 — Stone Chariot of Hampi, Karnataka
  • Rs 100 — Rani ki Vav, Gujarat
  • Rs 200 — Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh
  • Rs 500 — Red Fort, Delhi
  • Rs 2,000 — Mangalyaan

3. Abuse of dominance

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has fined Google twice — for abusing its dominant position in the market with its Android mobile operating system (OS) and for anti-competitive policies in its in-app billing and payment processing.

Concept:

• Section 4 of the Competition Act prohibits abuse of the dominant position of an enterprise in the market.
  • Dominant position means a position of strength, enjoyed by an enterprise in the relevant market in India which enables it to:
    • Operate independently of competitive forces in relevant market
    • Affect competitors, consumers or relevant market in its favour
• Section 4(2) of Act prevents following acts resulting in abuse of dominant position:
  • directly or indirectly imposes unfair or discriminatory conditions or prices in the purchase or sale of goods or services;
  • restricts or limits production of goods or services in the market; etc.
  • if any enterprise indulges in a practice resulting in denial of market access in any manner.
• Factors to determine the dominant position–Section 19(4) of the Act gives a detailed list of elements that the Commission will consider while asking into any claim of abuse of dominance.
  • a market share.
  • the size and assets of the undertaking.
  • size and significance of contenders or competitors.
  • the financial intensity of the undertaking.
  • a vertical combination or integration.
  • a reliance on customers on the undertaking or undertaking.
  • degree of section and exit barriers in the market.
  • countervailing purchasing power.
  • market structure and size of the market.
  • a source of dominant position viz. regardless of whether acquired because of resolution or statute and so on.
  • social expenses and commitments and commitment of big business getting a charge out of the prevailing situation to financial improvement.
    • The Competition Commission of India is additionally approved to consider whatever other factors which it might think about applicability for the assurance of dominance.
• Powers on CCI –when the abuse of dominant position has been built up, the competition specialists can take certain measures for the same:
  • A restraining order.
  • The penalty which might be 10% of yearly turnover.
  • Direct the enterprise to make a move which the authority regards fit.
  • Give any other request which it might think fit.
  • Divide the prevailing endeavor.
  • In the instance of allure to the Competition Appellate Tribunal, the Tribunal may arrange for payment to the party bearing misfortune.
• Under Section 27 of the Competition Act, the CCI has power to impose such a penalty, as it may deem fit, which shall be not more than 10% of the average of the turnover for the last three preceding financial years, upon each of such person or enterprises which are parties to such agreements or abuse.
  • The Supreme Court in 2014 had ruled that the penalty should be imposed not on the “total/ entire turnover of the offending company” but on “relevant turnover.”

4. Liquidity in system

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) injected Rs 72,860.7 crore of liquidity into the banking system on October 21 — the highest since April 2019

Details:

Liquidity infusion done after on the backdrop of liquidity tightening:

• Higher demand for credit during the festival season
  • Rise in demand for credit during festivals leads to higher growth in credit than in deposits automatically leading to the liquidity issue
• The central bank’s intervention in the foreign exchange market to curb volatility in the rupee.
  • Through intervention, the RBI sells dollars and sucks out rupee liquidity from the system

Concept:

• Liquidity in the banking system refers to readily available cash that banks need to meet short-term business and financial needs.
• When  the banking system is a net borrower from the RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), the system liquidity is in deficit. 
• When  the banking system is a net lender to the RBI, the liquidity is in surplus. 

Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF)

• The LAF refers to the RBI’s operations through which it injects or absorbs liquidity into or from the banking system.
• The funds from the Facility are expected to be used by the banks for their day-to-day mismatches in liquidity.
• It was introduced in 2000 following the recommendation of Narasimham Committee Report on Banking Reforms. 
• Under the scheme, RBI conducts auctions to absorb (through reverse repo auctions) and inject (through repo auctions) liquidity into the financial system.
  • It allows banks to borrow money from the RBI in exchange of G-securities through repurchase agreements (repos) or for banks to make loans to the RBI through reverse repo agreements.
• Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Here, the central bank purchases the security.
• Reverse repo rate is the rate at which the RBI borrows money from commercial banks within the country.

Policy rates under the LAF corridor to manage its monetary policy operations:

• Repo rate– at which it lends money to banks by taking g -sec from banks as collaterals.
• Reverse repo rate– at which it drains excess liquidity from banks i.e borrows money from commercial banks by giving g-sec as collaterals.
• Marginal standing facility-rate at which RBI supplies liquidity on overnight basis (above the repo rate). It acted as the ceiling rate under the LAF corridor.
• Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) –acts as the floor rate under the LAF corridor as being above the fixed reverse repo rate. Here RBI borrows from banks to absorb surplus liquidity from the banking system at a higher interest rate without parting Gsec as the collateral to the lenders.

When there is liquidity shortage in the system, RBI injects liquidity by buying back government securities (g-sec) through open market operations (OMO).

• It is not a formalised kind of G-SAP (G-sec acquisition programme) where securities are bought through open market operations.
• Open market operations (OMO) means buying and selling of government securities in the open market in order to expand or contract the amount of money in the banking system.
• Purchases inject money into the banking system and stimulate growth while sales of securities do the opposite

5. Rising interest rate

Subject: Economy

Context:

Experts opine that banks are in a Catch-22 situation

Background:

• Catch-22 situation-a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem.
• In the present context it denotes a situation where banks want to reduce their surplus SLR securities to support credit growth but rising yields are not offering them the opportunity.
• Cause:
  • Deposits are not growing at the same rate as credit i.ecredit growth>deposit growth.
  • Banks are also holding excess SLR securities on the backdrop of earlier low credit growth. 
• If all banks want to sell excess SLR (getting liquidity) to support credit growth given the number of  buyers will lead to an excess supply of bonds>demand. Thus, prices of bonds would reduce and yield rise (as price and yield are inversely related). Bank treasuries losing by selling excess securities
• Impact– rise in deposit rates to encourage deposits instead of selling excess SLR securities.

Concept:

Statutory Liquidity Ratio 

• SLR is the minimum percentage of deposits that the commercial bank maintains through gold, cash and other securities.
• These deposits are maintained by the banks themselves and not with the RBI or Reserve Bank of India unlike the Cash Reserve Ratio.
• Banks earn returns on money parked as SLR
• Section 24 and Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 mandates all scheduled commercial banks, local area banks, Primary (Urban) co-operative banks (UCBs), state co-operative banks and central co-operative banks in India to maintain the SLR.
• It comprises of– cash, gold and SLR securities, comprising:
  • Dated securities
  • Treasury Bills of the Government of India;
  • Dated securities of the Government of India issued from time to time under the market borrowing programme and the Market Stabilization Scheme;
  • State Development Loans (SDLs) of the State Governments issued from time to time under the market borrowing programme; and
  • Any other instrument as may be notified by the Reserve Bank of India

How excess SLR holdings?

• Banks are required to invest 18 percent of the deposits they mobilise in SLR securities.
• During times when credit growth is low, they invest over and above the regulatory minimum, leading to excess SLR holdings.
• Excess SLR holdings provide collateral buffers to banks for availing funds under the liquidity adjustment facility(LAF) and are also a component of the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR).

How are SLR and yield related?

• If all banks want to sell excess SLR (getting liquidity) to support credit growth, the number of  buyers will lead to an excess supply of (g-sec)bonds>demand. Thus, prices of bonds would reduce and yield rise (as price and yield are inversely related).
• Bank treasuries losing by selling excess securities.

Bonds and bond yield:

• A bond is a fixed income instrument that represents a loan made by an investor to a borrower (typically corporate or governmental).
• A company/govt. issues bonds to raise money and they pay regular fixed interest to the bondholder. This interest rate is called the coupon rate. It is declared on the face value of the bond and remains fixed until maturity.
• However, since bonds are tradeable, they also give returns. These returns are called bond yields.
• The bond prices and yields generally move in opposite directions.This is because, as a bond’s price increases, its yield to maturity falls.
• Example- for a bond purchased with a par (face) value of $100, and a 10% annual coupon rate, its yield would be 10% (10/100 = 0.10)
  • If the bond price falls to $90, the yield would become 11% (10/90 = 0.11).

6. UNSC’s Counter Terrorism Committee to meet in India

Subject: International Relations

Context:

• India will host the first ever UNSC’s Counter Terrorism Committee meeting since its establishment in 2001.
• The theme of the meeting is ‘Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes’.
• The meeting will be hosted in Mumbai and Delhi.
• The Permanent Representative of India to the UN serves as the Chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee for 2022.

What is Counter terrorism Committee of UNSC:

• The Counter-Terrorism Committee was established by Security Council resolution 1373 adopted unanimously on 28 September 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US.
• It is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
• It is 15-member committee set up to implement the UN resolution obligating member states to criminalize support for terrorist activities and stop financial aid and harbouring of terrorists.
• In 2004, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate(CTED) was established to provide expert advice for Counter-Terrorism Committee.
• The CTED also provides technical aid for the member countries and promotes their collaboration at various international forums.

7. Nalanda varsity to offer course on Bay of Bengal

Subject: International Relations

Context:

• Nalanda University will start to offer ‘Bay of Bengal: An Introduction’ as a certificate course from this September via online classes.

About the Course:

• The course will be a three-week course which will include lectures from experts on navigation, fisheries, track-II policies and culture of countries involved with Bay of Bengal e India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, USA, France, Germany, UK, Japan and Korea.
• The course content includes the study of trade and commerce in the Bay of Bengal, traditional and non-traditional security, major sea lanes, energy and other resources, blue economy, sustainable development, coastal tourism, geopolitical competition, migration and refugees, piracy, pollution, traditions, art and architecture, religions, food, festivals, music, dance, clothing, movies and overall economic and ecological relevance of the bay today.
• The course was announced by PM Narendra Modi on August 30, 2018, during the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Summit’s opening session in
• The first batch of the ‘Bay of Bengal: An Introduction’ course has 19 participants who are from India, Indonesia, Colombia and China.

What is BIMSTEC:

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional multilateral organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand.
• It was established on June 6th, 1997, as a result of the Bangkok Declaration
• BIMSTEC Secretariat is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

8. In China- the first inhalable vaccine against Covid-19: Can needle-free work?

Subject: Science and Technology

Context-

• Shanghai (China) authorities have started administering an inhalable vaccine (first in the world) against covid-19.
• The vaccine is being offered for free as a booster dose for previously vaccinated people.

Administering process-

• The vaccine is a mist that is sucked in through the mouth.
• After slowly inhaling, people hold their breath for five seconds, with the entire procedure completed in 20 seconds.
• It was like drinking a cup of milk tea.
• The inhalable vaccine has been developed by the Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics Inc. as an aerosol version of its one-shot adenovirus vaccine, which uses a relatively harmless cold virus.

Intranasal vaccine-

• In September this year, India’s national drug regulator cleared Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech’s iNCOVACC, the country’s first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in unimmunised adults.
• iNCOVACC, which uses a modified chimpanzee adenovirus, will be delivered through the nasal route, which would potentially trigger an immune response in the mucosal membrane. It has been designed to not only protect against infection but also reduce transmission of the virus.
• The vaccine is not yet part of India’s national immunisation programme.
• Bharat Biotech, the manufacturer of Covaxin, first announced an intranasal vaccine in September 2020, after the first wave of the pandemic.

Easy to deliver-

• Any needle-free vaccine would be easy to administer, and would cut down on the dependence on trained personnel, ultimately making mass immunisation more accessible in poorer countries and countries with inadequate healthcare infrastructure.
• Also, experts have pointed out that needle-free shots might persuade those who do not like to be injected to get the vaccine.
• Zydus Cadila’sZyCoV-D, the first Covid-19 vaccine built on a DNA platform, is an intradermal vaccine that is applied through the skin, but using a needle-free system.

Questions remain-

• While around a dozen nasal vaccines are being tested globally according to the World Health Organization, the effectiveness of non-needle vaccines is yet to be fully tested.
• Save for some flu vaccines, this route of delivery has not been very successful so far.

Types of vaccines-

Inactivated vaccines:

• Inactivated vaccines use the killed version of the germ that causes a disease.
• Vaccines of this type are created by inactivating a pathogen, typically using heat or chemicals such as formaldehyde or formalin. This destroys the pathogen’s ability to replicate, but keeps it “intact” so that the immune system can still recognize it. (“Inactivated” is generally used rather than “killed” to refer to viral vaccines of this type, as viruses are generally not considered to be alive.)
• They usually don’t provide immunity (protection) that’s as strong as live vaccines. So you may need several doses over time (booster shots) in order to get ongoing immunity against diseases.
• They are Used to protect: Hepatitis A, Flu (shot only), Polio (shot only), Rabies.

Live-attenuated Vaccines:

• Live vaccines use a weakened (or attenuated) form of the germ that causes a disease.
• Because these vaccines are so similar to the natural infection that they help prevent, they create a strong and long-lasting immune response.
• The limitation of this approach is that these vaccines usually cannot be given to people with weakened immune systems.
• Live vaccines are used against: Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR combined vaccine), Rotavirus, Smallpox among others.

Messenger (m) RNA Vaccines:

• mRNA vaccines make proteins in order to trigger an immune response. mRNA vaccines have several benefits compared to other types of vaccines, including shorter manufacturing times and, because they do not contain a live virus, no risk of causing disease in the person getting vaccinated.
• The vaccines are used to protect against: Covid-19.

Subunit, Recombinant, Polysaccharide, and Conjugate Vaccines:

• They use specific pieces of the germ – like its protein, sugar, or capsid (a casing around the germ). They give a very strong immune response.
• They can also be used on people with weakened immune systems and long-term health problems.
• These vaccines are used to protect against: Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) disease, Hepatitis B, HPV (Human papillomavirus), Pneumococcal disease among others.

Toxoid Vaccines:

• They use a toxin (harmful product) made by the germ that causes a disease. They create immunity to the parts of the germ that cause a disease instead of the germ itself. That means the immune response is targeted to the toxin instead of the whole germ.
• Toxoid vaccines are used to protect against: Diphtheria, Tetanus.

Viral Vector Vaccines:

• Viral vector vaccines use a modified version of a different virus as a vector to deliver protection.
• Several different viruses have been used as vectors, including influenza, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), measles virus, and adenovirus, which causes the common cold.
• Adenovirus is one of the viral vectors used in some Covid-19 vaccines being studied in clinical trials.
• The vaccines are used to protect against:Covid-19.

9. Understanding GM mustard: what is it and how has it been achieved?

Subject: Science and Technology

Context-

• On October 18, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recommended the “environmental release” of the transgenic hybrid mustard DMH-11 for seed production and conduct of field demonstration studies with respect to its effects, if any, on honey bees and other pollinating insects.

What exactly is hybrid mustard?

• Hybridisation involves crossing two genetically dissimilar plant varieties that can even be from the same species.
• The first-generation (F1) offspring from such crosses tend to have higher yields than what either parent can individually give.
• Such hybridisation isn’t easy in mustard, as its flowers have both female (pistil) and male (stamen) reproductive organs, making the plants largely self-pollinating.
• Since the eggs of one plant cannot be fertilised by the pollen grains from another, it limits the scope for developing hybrids — unlike in cotton, maize or tomato, where this can be done through simple emasculation or physical removal of anthers.

So, how has hybridisation been achieved in mustard?

• By genetic modification (GM).
• Scientists at Delhi University’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) have developed the hybrid mustard DMH-11 containing two alien genes isolated from a soil bacterium called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
• The first gene (‘barnase’) codes for a protein that impairs pollen production and renders the plant into which it is incorporated male-sterile.
• This plant is then crossed with a fertile parental line containing, in turn, the second ‘barstar’ gene that blocks the action of the barnase gene.
• The resultant F1 progeny is both high-yielding and also capable of producing seed/ grain, thanks to the barstar gene in the second fertile line.

Mustard variety used to develop DMH-11-

• The CGMCP scientists have deployed the barnase-barstar GM technology to create what they say is a robust and viable hybridisation system in mustard.
• This system was used to develop DMH-11 by crossing a popular Indian mustard variety ‘Varuna’ (the barnase line) with an East European ‘Early Heera-2’ mutant (barstar).
• DMH-11 is claimed to have shown an average 28% yield increase over Varuna in contained field trials carried out by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

What has GEAC now done?

• GEAC is a body responsible for appraisal of proposals relating to the “release” of GM organisms and products (ordinarily considered hazardous) into the environment.
• In this case, it has recommended the environmental release of DMH-11 “for its seed production and testing…prior to commercial release”.
• In other words, it has given the green signal for commercial cultivation by farmers, with production of seed material being the first step.
• GEAC has also recommended the environmental release of DMH-11’s parental lines (carrying the barnase and barstar genes) for them to be used to develop new hybrids.
• Such hybrids could give even higher yields than DHM-11.

Mustard varieties in India-

• Mustard varieties in India have a narrow genetic base. The barnase-barstar system enables breeding of hybrids from a wider range of mustards, including those of East European origin such as ‘Heera’ and ‘Donskaja’.
• We can also introduce new traits relating to resistance against disease (alternaria blight and stem rot fungus) or canola oil quality (zero/ low levels of erucic acid and glucosinolates, seen as negative from a health standpoint),” said Deepak Pental, former Delhi University vice chancellor, who led the CGMCP team that bred DMH-11 in 2002.

Why did it take so long for GEAC to clear?

• There has been opposition to GM crops in general, from assorted green groups and the RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch.
• In GM mustard, there have been two specific concerns voiced as well.
• The first is the presence of a third ‘bar’ gene, which makes GM mustard plants tolerant to the spraying of glufosinate ammonium, a chemical used for killing weeds. This, the opponents allege,  will cause displacement of manual labour engaged in weeding by promoting use of chemical herbicides.
• The second concern is over GM mustard threatening or undermining the population of honey bees.
• Mustard flowers are a source of nectar for honey bees and many other pollinator insects.
• However, the GEAC has cited the report of an expert committee which stated that “it seems unlikely that the bar, barnase and barstar system will pose an adverse impact on honey bees and other pollinators”.

So, will Indian farmers finally plant GM mustard?

• Definitely not this year, since there are no seeds available and the planting season for the crop (October to early-November) is virtually over.
• The compelling motive here could be India’s spiraling edible oil import bill. The country produces only 8.5-9 million tonnes (mt) of edible oil annually, while importing 14-14.5 mt that entailed a record foreign exchange outgo of $18.99 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.

10. Prevention better than cure: Why World Bank bats for One Health to combat pandemics

Subject: Science and Technology

Context-

• The report, Putting Pandemics Behind Us: Investing in One Health to Reduce Risks of Emerging Infectious Diseases, was released October 24.

Causes for increased pandemic-

• This is largely due to humans extending their global footprint, altering natural habitats, and accelerating the spillover of animal microbes into human populations.
• Some 75 per cent of these outbreaks are zoonotic events.
• With increased interaction between the two, the volatility of emerging infectious disease (EID) outbreaks has increased.
• It’s resulting in more than 1 billion human infections and 1 million deaths each year.
• The World Bank report described pandemic prevention as a global public good.
• It is non-excludable (no country can prevent others from benefitting) and non-rival (one country benefitting does not limit the extent to which other countries can benefit).

Approach to deal with emerging infectious disease (EID)-

• The report details a three-pronged approach to make headway in implementing a One Health approach to prevent a potential pandemic.
• The first is timing– the moment is ripe to work towards mitigating emerging infectious diseases.
• The second is the cost- The large proposed amount of between $10.3 billion to $11.5 billion per year is divided into $2.1 billion per year to bring public veterinary services up to international standards, $5 billion to improve farm biosecurity, and $3.2-$4.4 billion to reduce deforestation in higher risk countries.
• The Third is- the approach which has other benefits for sustainable development.

One Health Concept-

• One Health is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment.
• One Health’ vision derives its blueprint from the agreement between the tripartite-plus alliance comprising the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
• It’s purpose is to encourage collaborations in research and sharing of knowledge at multiple levels across various disciplines like human health, animal health, plants, soil, environmental and ecosystem health in ways that improve, protect and defend the health of all species.

Need for One Health Approach-

• Investing in One Health is the way forward in preventing, instead of fighting, the next global pandemic, claimed a report released by the World Bank.
• A One Health approach integrates the health of people, wildlife and the environment and can help end the cycle of devastating outbreaks.
• It estimated an annual expenditure to implement a One Health approach to be between $10.3 billion (Rs 84,856 crore) to $11.5 billion. While it is a monumental amount, it dwarfs in comparison to the cost of managing a pandemic, which hovers around the $30.1 billion per year mark.
• The pace of emerging infectious disease (EID) outbreaks has increased at an average annual rate of 6.7 per cent from 1980 onwards and the number of outbreaks has grown to several hundred per year since 2000, the report said.

Funding mechanism-

• The One Health Investment Framework for national, regional and global stakeholders to adopt has five core principles for funding.
• These principles are:

1. Adopting an integrated One Health multisectoral approach that aims to sustainably balance the health of people, animals, and ecosystems
2. Prioritising prevention, a most overlooked component of health security
3. Complying with existing minimum standards that are relevant for One Health
4. Focusing on geographical locations with higher risks of spillover at the human-animal-ecosystem interfaces
5. Reducing risks of spillovers in forests (or wildlife habitat), farms (livestock), and sprawling urban areas

11. Dirty Bomb Attack: Russia -Ukraine War

Subject: Science and Technology

Context-

• Russia intends to raise at the United Nations Security Council its accusation that Ukraine is planning a “dirty bomb” attack.

Key Highlights:

• Russia has warned that the use of the “dirty bomb” by Ukraine will be regarded as an act of nuclear terrorism.
• Earlier, the General Assembly voted to condemn Russia’s “ illegal annexation” of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine.

Dirty Bomb:

• A dirty bomb combines radioactive material with explosives.
• Aim:
  • To cause harm by spreading radioactive material that can contaminate an area and poison the human body.
  • Different from a nuclear bomb which utilises radioactive materials to create an explosion.

Material used in Dirty Bomb:

• Cesium-137
• RDX(Explosives)
• like Cobalt-60(High-energy gamma emitters)

Details:

• Dirty bombs do not create city-flattening atomic explosions but are designed to spread toxic waste.
• Security experts have worried about them mostly as a form of terrorist weapon to be used on cities to cause havoc among civilians, rather than as a tactical device for use by warring parties in conflict.
• Immediate health impact would probably be limited since most people in an affected area would be able to escape before experiencing lethal doses of radiation.
• But the economic damage could be massive from having to evacuate urban areas or even abandon whole cities.
• A bomb using radioactive caesium from a misplaced or stolen medical device might require the evacuation of an area of several city blocks, making it unsafe for decades.
• A piece of radioactive cobalt from a food irradiation plant could, if blasted apart in a bomb in New York, contaminate a 380 square mile (1,000 square km) area and potentially make the island of Manhattan uninhabitable.
• In a joint statement, the United States, Britain and France called the Russian allegations “transparently false” and warned Moscow against using them as a “pretext” for escalation.

12. Countries’ targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions insufficient: UNFCCC

Subject: Environment

Context-

• The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) pledged by countries to arrest climate change are insufficient, noted a new report released by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Cumulative CO2 emissions in 2020-2030, based on the latest NDCs, would likely use up 86 per cent of the remaining carbon budget, according to the new NDC Synthesis Report.

About the report-

• The UNFCCC’s synthesis report is an annual summary of climate commitments made by countries and their impact on global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• These commitments — known as Nationally Determined Contributions  — were made by countries who signed on to the Paris Agreement to address climate change.
• The latest iteration of the report analyses 166 NDCs communicated to the UNFCCC as of September 23, 2022. Some 39 countries have submitted new or updated NDCs since the previous report.
• Marginal progress has been made over the past year, the report noted.
• For the countries that have made their pledges more ambitious recently, the total GHG emissions will be about 10 per cent lower in 2030 than their previous NDCs.
• Updated NDCs are a manifestation of the Paris Agreement’s ‘ratcheting mechanism’— wherein countries must revise their pledges to be more ambitious every five years.

New or updated NDCs-

• Only 24 countries submitted new or updated NDCs after COP 26.
• India submitted its upwardly revised NDC in August, extending two of its previous NDC goals.
• India now stands committed to reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 from its 2005 levels.
• The country will also target about 50 per cent of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
• India has made one of its new NDC targets conditional.
• The country will switch 50 per cent of its total power capacity to non-fossil sources by 2030.
• This pledge depends on the “transfer of technology and low-cost international finance, including Green Climate Fund (GCF).”

Carbon budget–

• The carbon budget is a biophysical threshold of CO2 that can be emitted to prevent global average temperatures from rising above a certain level.
• A carbon budget is a cumulative amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions permitted over a period of time to keep within a certain temperature threshold.
• It is the maximum amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that can be emitted while still having a chance to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C.
• Carbon budgets are constructed on the premise that there is a near-linear relationship between rising global temperatures and the level of cumulative atmospheric CO2.

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

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

LT-LEDS can be useful to guide future low-carbon development, but the criticality of front-loading emission reductions in this decade cannot be overstated.

13. National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC)

Subject: Government

Context: The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) under Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba met today and reviewed the preparedness of Central Ministries/Agencies, and State/UT Governments for the possible cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal.

Concept:

• At the national level, Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) are the key committees involved in the top-level decision-making wrt Disaster Management (DM).
• It deals with major crisis which have serious or national ramifications.

Key functions:

• Oversee the Command, Control and Coordination of the disaster response.
• Give direction to the Crisis Management Group (CMG) as deemed necessary.

Composition: 

• Cabinet Secretary (Chairperson).
• Secretaries of Ministries / Departments and agencies with specific Disaster management responsibilities

14. Deepavali Day Pollution

Subject: Environment

Context: It was the cleanest Deepavali since 2015

Why was the air cleaner this time?

It was essentially because of meteorological conditions.

• High wind speed: It helped prevent the accumulation of pollutants.
• High Temperature: It is not yet cool enough for the air to trap pollutants in the lower layers(Temperature Inversion)
• Emission from firecrackers have been reported to have the following effects:
• a) The children breathe toxic air and suffer from nasal irritation and throat congestion. b) The smoke also irritates the eyes cause tears and redness. c) Bursting crackers may increase blood pressure and aggravate heart disease. d) Nausea, headache and giddiness are common effects of bursting crackers. e) Lung infections such as coughing, sneezing, respiratory disorders like asthma, wheezing often get severe during Deepawali festival. The pollution hazards such as the toxic smoke causes a lot of discomfort in breathing. f) The poisonous gas can also affect pregnant women adversely. It may also affect the mentally ill patients leading to depression, fear and stress.

Temperature inversion:

• Temperature inversion, also called thermal inversion is a reversal of the normal behaviour of decrease of temperature with increasing height in the troposphere.

Ideal Conditions for Temperature Inversion:

1. Long Winter nights: Loss of heat from the ground should be greater than incoming radiation.
2. Clear Skies: For unobstructable escape of radiation.
3. Calm Stable Air: No vertical mixing at lower levels.
4. Slow Movement of air: No transfer or mixing of heat.
5. Snow covered ground surface: Maximum albedo/reflection of insolation.

Types of temperature inversion:

There are four kinds of inversions: ground, turbulence, subsidence, and frontal.

1. A ground inversion (Surface temperature inversion) develops when air is cooled by contact with a colder surface until it becomes cooler than the overlying atmosphere.
2. A subsidence inversion (Upper surface temperature inversion) develops when a widespread layer of air descends, gets compressed and heated by the resulting increase in atmospheric pressure, and, as a result, the lapse rate of temperature is reduced.
3. A turbulence inversion (Intermontane valley or air drainage type temperature inversion) often forms when quiescent air overlies turbulent air. Vertical mixing carries heat downward and cools the upper part of the layer. Cold air slopes down the valley with upper layers relatively warmer.
4. A frontal inversion occurs when a cold air mass undercuts a warm air mass and lifts it aloft; the front between the two air masses then has warm air above and cold air below.

Effect of temperature Inversion

Inversions play an important role in determining cloud forms, precipitation, and visibility.

• An inversion acts as a cap on the upward movement of air from the layers below. As a result, convection produced by the heating of air from below is limited to levels below the inversion.
• Diffusion of dust, smoke, and other air pollutants is likewise limited. In regions where a pronounced low-level inversion is present, convective clouds cannot grow high enough to produce showers and, at the same time, visibility may be greatly reduced below the inversion.
• Inversions also affect diurnal variations in air temperature. The principal heating of air during the day is produced by its contact with a land surface that has been heated by the Sun’s radiation. Heat from the ground is communicated to the air by conduction and convection. Since an inversion will usually control the upper level to which heat is carried by convection, only a shallow layer of air will be heated if the inversion is low and large, and the rise in temperature will be great.
• It can cause temperature stability which stops upward/downward movement of air causing no rain and dry conditions.