Daily Prelims Notes 4 October 2020

October 4, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: Government initiative

Context:

Prime Minister inaugurates RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020,’ a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Concept:

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog are organising the Mega Virtual Summit AI.
RAISE 2020 will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors.
At the RAISE 2020, delegates and experts in research, policy and innovation on Artificial Intelligence will join from across the globe.
The summit will discuss cross-sector subjects like ‘Leveraging AI for Pandemic Preparedness’, ‘The Impetus that Innovation Places on Digitisation’, ‘Inclusive AI’, ‘Partnerships for Successful Innovation’ etc.

2. CBD oil

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

Earlier this week, there was an appeal to legalise CBD oil in India

Concept:

CBD oil is an extract from the cannabis plant.
The two main active substances in it are cannabidiol or CBD and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
The high that is caused by the consumption of cannabis is due to THC. CBD, however, does not cause a “high” or any form of intoxication.
CBD oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil.
Cannabidiol has effects on the brain, preventing the breakdown of a chemical that aggravates pain and affects mood, and mental function. It can reduce pain and anxiety. It also reduces psychotic symptoms associated with conditions such as schizophrenia as well as epilepsy.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) outlaws the recreational use of cannabis.
The NDPS Act, however, does not apply to the leaves and seeds of cannabis plants. In case the CBD is extracted from the leaves of the cannabis, then technically it is not illegal.
CBD oil manufactured under a licence issued by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 can be legally used. However, the use of cannabis as a medicine is not much prevalent in India.
The recent controversy about the use of drugs in Bollywood has further stigmatised the usage of CBD.

3. Madhucadiplostemon and sacred grove

Subject: Environment

Context:

A tree species, long believed extinct, has been rediscovered after a gap of more than 180 years from a sacred grove in Kollam district.

Concept:

Madhucadiplostemon, a species of flowering plant from Sapotaceae family, has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
It is believed that the species was a highly local endemic with a few individuals in the past, which were inadvertently removed for temple expansion in recent years.
This species was first described by Robert Wight, a surgeon-botanist of the East India Company, based on his collection from Kollam in 1835 which comprises three specimens with immature flower buds.
Since its original collection, individuals of Madhucadiplostemon were never collected again, neither from its locality nor elsewhere, and botanical explorations in Eastern and Western Ghats have failed to find the species.
Moreover, it has not been enlisted in any of the recent treatises of southern India. The present collection hence forms a rediscovery of this species after a hiatus of 184 years since its first collection
The institute is now planning to undertake off-site conservation activities for this species through its species recovery programme.

Sacred groves

They comprise of patches of forests or natural vegetation – from a few trees to forests of several acres – that are usually dedicated to local folk deities(Example – Ayyanar and Amman) or tree spirits (Vanadevatais).
These spaces are protected by local communitiesbecause of their religious beliefs and traditional rituals that run through several generations.
The degree of sanctity of the sacred forests varies from one grove to another. In some forests even the dry foliage and fallen fruits are not touched. People believe that any kind of disturbance will offend the local deity, causing diseases, natural calamities or failure of crops. For example, the Garo and the Khasi tribes of northeastern India completely prohibit any human interference in the sacred groves.
In other groves, deadwood or dried leaves may be picked up, but the live tree or its branches are never cut. For example, the Gonds of central India prohibit the cutting of a tree but allow fallen parts to be used.
Classification of sacred groves
- Traditional Sacred Groves – It is the place where the village deity resides, who is represented by an elementary symbol
- Temple Groves – Here a grove is created around a temple and conserved.
- Groves around the burial or cremation grounds
Ecological significance
- Conservation of Biodiversity– The sacred groves are important repositories of floral and faunal diversity that have been conserved by local communities in a sustainable manner. They are often the last refuge of endemic species in the geographical region.
- Recharge of aquifers– The groves are often associated with ponds, streams or springs, which help meet the water requirements of the local people. The vegetative cover also helps in the recharging the aquifers.
- Soil conservation– The vegetation cover of the sacred groves improves the soil stability of the area and also prevents soil erosion.
In India, sacred groves are found all over the country and abundantly along the western ghats in the states of Kerala and Karnataka. Although, there has been no comprehensive study on the sacred groves of the entire country, experts estimate the total number of sacred groves in India could be in the range of 100,000 – 150,000.

4. Ex Bongosagar

Subject:IR

Context:

The second edition of the bilateral naval exercise between India and Bangladesh “Exercise Bongosagar” began in the northern Bay of Bengal

Concept:

Ex Bongosagar, whose first edition was held in 2019, is aimed at developing inter-operability and joint operational skills through conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations
In this edition of Ex Bongosagar, ships from both navies will participate in surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and helicopter operations

5. LEMOA

Subject: IR

Context:

A U.S. Navy P-8A long range Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) landed at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the last week of September for refuellingunder the bilateral logistics support agreement

Concept:

LEMOA stands for Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), a tweaked India-specific version of the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), which the U.S. has with several countries it has close military to military cooperation.
It is also one of the three foundational agreements — as referred to by the U.S.
The three agreements — Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) are referred to as the foundational agreements which the U.S. signs with countries with which it has close military ties.
They are meant to build basic ground work and promote interoperability between militaries by creating common standards and systems. They also guide sale and transfer of high-end technologies.
LEMOA gives access, to both countries, to designated military facilities on either side for the purpose of refuelling and replenishment. India and the U.S. already hold large number of joint exercises during which payments are done each time, which is a long and tedious process.
Under the new agreement, a mechanism will be instituted for book-keeping and payments and officials, who will act as nodal points of contact, will be designated on both sides.
The agreement will primarily cover four areas — port calls, joint exercises, training and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. Any other requirement has to be agreed upon by both sides on a case-by-case basis.

6. Mangrove migration

Subject: Environment

Context:

Investigation of Mangroves distribution in the Hooghly estuary suggests that the mangroves have started moving upstream, growing in less-saline regions.

Concept:

Over the years due to gradual environmental changes and anthropogenic activities, mangroves have started to redistribute.
Sewage disposal has increased the pollution load in the river waters. Globally, there is also rapid mean sea-level rise. All these might have played a role in this upstream migration
This shows the potential of Sonneratiacaseolaris to act as a bio-indicator of regional environmental changes.
The decline in the mangrove area along with this migration may increase the amplitude of coastal hazards such as storm surges, erosion and flooding.

7. Confronting Carbon Inequality

Subject: Reports

Context:

A rich person contributes more to the climate crisis than a poor person: Between 1990 and 2015, the richest 1 per cent of humanity accounted for 15 per cent of cumulative emissions, while the poorest 50 per cent accounted for only 7 per cent, a new report by Oxfam International and the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) has found.

Concept:

The global carbon budget is being rapidly depleted — not to afford communities around the world dignity and a decent standard of living — but to expand the consumption of the rich.
Of this, the largest share of emissions by the rich was from flights and cars, including private jets, luxury SUVs and sports cars, the report said.
The report underlined the need to focus on clipping emissions of the richest 10 per cent:Reduction of the per capita footprint to the 1.5°C-consistent level by 2030 would cut annual carbon emissions by over a third.
About half of the emissions of the richest 10 per cent are associated with North America and the European Union (EU).
India’s per capita emissions were a fraction of not just the EU (6.78 tCO2 / person), but also China (7.95 tCO2 / person), making it the lowest per capita emitter amongst the world’s large economies.
The report briefly acknowledged the intersectionality of income inequality and the climate crisis with factors such as race, class, gender, caste and age. For example, gender pay inequity meant that men earned higher wages than women.

8. TRIPS FLEXIBILITY

Context:

India and South Africa have requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive certain conditions of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement that could impede timely access to affordable medical products to combat Covid-19.

According to these countries, many developing countries, may face institutional and legal difficulties when using flexibilities available in the TRIPS Agreement.

They are asking for waiver of following sections

These Sections are 1, 4, 5 and 7 which pertains to copyright and related rights, industrial designs, patents and the protection of undisclosed information.

9. Sun’s magnetic field

Context:

Few scientists have claimed that knowing the magnetic field variations can contribute to our understanding of climate and weather.

Concept:

The sun’s magnetic field is generated by a complex process inside the sun called the solar dynamo. The magnetic field starts off as basically up and down, i.e. roughly straight lines between the north and south poles.

The sun’s magnetic field changes polarity approximately every 11 years. It happens at the peak of each solar cycle as the sun’s inner magnetic dynamo re-organizes itself.The sun’s polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero and then emerge again with the opposite polarity. This is a regular part of the solar cycle.

Does Earth also has its own magnetic field?

The sun isn’t the only body in the solar system with a magnetic field that reverses. Earth has a magnetic field as well, and it has flipped many times over the last billion years.

Difference between Sun’s Magnetic field and Earth’s magnetic field?

The magnetic fields of both the sun and the Earth are thought to be generated by similar “dynamo” processes that involve rotating and convecting electrically conducting fluids.
In case of Earth it is molten iron in the case of the Earth and hot, ionized gases for Sun.
However Earth’s magnetic field reversals happen much less frequently—only once every 200,000 to 300,000 years on average, whereas for Sun it is 11 years.

10. Warm Vaccine

Context: The biggest challenge to distribute Covid-19 vaccines to hundreds of millions of peopleis availability of enough freezers?

Concept:

Vaccines are similar to dairy or meat products in that their chemical structures are maintained when they are kept within certain temperature ranges. Therefore, vaccines needs to stored and transported at cold temperatures. This will lead to a big logistics challenge for covid-19 vaccine development and distribution.

Warm vaccine: It is a vaccine that can maintain its chemical structure even in room temperature. This will help to manage the logistical challenge.

11. Narco and Polygraph test

Context: There has been demand for narco test of all acuussed and family of victim in the Hathras case.

Polygraph analysis:

Itis based on the assumption that physiological responses that are triggered when a person is lying are different from what they would be otherwise.
Instruments like cardio-cuffs or sensitive electrodes are attached to the person, and variables such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, change in sweat gland activity, blood flow, etc., are measured as questions are put to them.
A numerical value is assigned to each response to conclude whether the person is telling the truth, is deceiving, or is uncertain

Narcoanalysis:

Narcoanalysis involves the injection of a drug, sodium pentothal, which induces a hypnotic or sedated state in which the subject’s imagination is neutralized, and they are expected to divulge information that is true.
The drug, referred to as “truth serum” in this context, was used in larger doses as anaesthesia during surgery, and is said to have been used during World War II for intelligence operations.
Investigating agencies employ these tests in investigation, and are sometimes seen as being a “softer alternative” to torture or “third degree” to extract the truth from suspects.
However, neither method has been proven scientifically to have a 100% success rate, and remain contentious in the medical field as well.