DPN Topics
WIPO REPORT Topic: IR Section: International organization Context: According to a recent report “Patent Landscape Report” on Covid-related vaccines and therapeutics from WIPO, extraordinarily active patent filing activity happened during Pandemic. Concept: The report comes amidst international negotiations for a temporary IP waiver on Covid-linked products, including vaccines, to facilitate greater access to these […]
BLOCKCHAIN GAMING TOPIC: Science & Tech Section: Computer Related Context- Many Indian gaming companies have expressed their interest in introducing elements of Blockchain technology into their games in the near future. Concept- What are blockchain games? Blockchain is a decentralised database that stores information. It relies on technology that allows for the storage […]
GREAT ANDAMANESE TRIBES TOPIC: Geography Section: Economic Geography Context- Anvita Abbi’s book’ Voices from the Lost Horizon’ encapsulates the worldview of the Great Andamanese tribe through its stories and songs, capturing a culture that is now extinct. Concept- About Tribes of Andaman Islands: The Andamanese are the various indigenous peoples of the Andaman […]
COUNTER MAGNETS & SATELLITE TOWNS TOPIC: Geography Section: Economic geography Context- The Government of Himachal Pradesh passed the Shimla Development Plan February 9, 2022, for the construction of a ‘counter-magnet’ and four satellite towns to decongest and transfer urbanisation load from the core Shimla city. Concept- A counter-magnet town is proposed to be […]
EXCISE DUTY ON PETROL/DIESEL TOPIC: Economy Section: Fiscal Policy Context- The government has ruled out cutting central excise duty on petrol and diesel. In the mean time, it is looking to the Russian window for supply of crude, which is expected to cushion the impact of surging prices of Indian basket of crude. […]
MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME TOPIC: Science & Tech Section: Defence Context- The accidental firing of a missile by India into Pakistan could have led to serious, unintended escalation of tensions between the two nuclear armed countries. Concept- Pakistan has alleged that the incident “indicates many loopholes and technical lapses of a serious nature […]
PAYMENT NETWORKS TOPIC: Economy Section: Monetary Policy and banking Context- The sanctions-led withdrawal of card payments networks like Visa and Mastercard from Russia throws light on the dominance of US-based companies in the global payments ecosystem. Concept- In India two UPI cost apps — Walmart-owned PhonePe and Google Pay — accounted for over […]
RADIOCARBON DATING TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- Radiocarbon dating has unmasked two forged paintings in France. The paintings were supposedly impressionist and pointillist works from around the early twentieth century. Heritage scientists clipped tiny threads from canvases and plucked what appeared to be a paintbrush bristle trapped in the paint — all were […]
CRISPR PATENT RULING TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- The U.S. patent office has awarded key patent rights related to the CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing tool to the Broad Institute team led by molecular biologist Feng Zhang. It had been locked in a battle with another team that includes biochemist Jennifer Doudna and microbiologist Emmanuelle […]
ANTIBODIES TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- A small study found that compared with adults, a higher proportion of children did not produce antibodies in response to SARS CoV2 infection (seroconversion). Concept- Antibody: Antibody, also called immunoglobulin, is a Y shaped protective protein produced by the immune system in response to the presence of […]