Daily Prelims Notes 11 February 2024
- February 11, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
11 February 2024
Table Of Contents
- Pollinator-plant interactions disrupted by nitrate radicals
- What are the changes in the new Water Act?
- CSIR NAL flies test-drone that can double up as ‘pseudo satellite’
- Serum’s HPV vaccine non-inferior to Gardasil: study
- Rann of Kutch and Dholavira
1. Pollinator-plant interactions disrupted by nitrate radicals
Subject: Environment
Section: Biodiversity
Context:
- Air pollutants reduce nocturnal hawkmoth pollination of evening primrose flowers by altering the flowers’ appealing scents, as per a study.
Details:
- The findings illustrate the impact of anthropogenic airborne pollutants on an animal’s olfactory ability and suggest that such pollutants may limit global pollination.
- The study reveals that air pollutants, specifically oxidants like ozone (O3) and nitrate radicals (NO3), significantly impact the nocturnal hawkmoth pollination of evening primrose flowers in Washington state by altering the flowers’ scents.
- This alteration hinders the hawkmoths’ ability to locate the flowers, as these pollutants degrade the scent compounds essential for pollination.
- NO3, particularly prevalent at night in polluted areas, was found to be more reactive than O3, targeting and oxidizing specific monoterpenes vital for hawkmoth recognition of the flowers.
- The oxidation of these scents led to a 70% reduction in hawkmoth visitation, potentially decreasing plant fruiting and overall fitness.
- Human activities have altered the environment. Airborne pollutants, such as oxidants like ozone and nitrate radicals, are known to degrade the chemical compounds that produce floral scents.
Source: TH
2. What are the changes in the new Water Act?
Subject: Environment
Section: Biodiversity
Context:
- The Lok Sabha passed the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024 to replace the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, of 1974.
What is the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974?
- The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 was India’s first legislation aimed at addressing water contamination, establishing an institutional framework through the creation of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) in September 1974.
- These boards are tasked with monitoring and preventing the contamination of public water resources by sewage and industrial effluents.
- The Act requires industrial units to obtain permission from state boards before setting up factories and to comply with specific environmental norms.
- The CPCB’s role includes collecting and disseminating data on water pollution and setting technical standards, while the SPCB enforces compliance, with penalties for violations including factory shutdowns, monetary fines, and imprisonment of up to six years.
- However, there have been no recorded instances of imprisonment for environmental violations in India.
Amendments to the act:
- The amendments to the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, reflect significant changes to enhance water management and pollution control in India.
- Since water is a state subject, the central government’s legislative power is limited unless requested by two or more states.
- The recent amendments, applicable to Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Union territories (while the original Act applies to 25 states), notably replace imprisonment for “minor” violations with fines ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹15 lakh.
- The amendments also increase the central government’s authority, allowing it to override State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) in specific scenarios.
- Unlike the original Act, which mandates SPCB consent for establishing any industry or treatment plant that could discharge sewage, the amendments permit the central government, in consultation with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), to exempt certain categories of industrial plants from this requirement.
- However, operating or establishing an industrial unit without SPCB consent remains a serious offense, potentially resulting in six years of imprisonment and a fine.
- The amendments also empower the central government to issue guidelines regarding the grant, refusal, or cancellation of SPCB consents, maintaining the penalty for unauthorized industry operation and introducing fines for tampering with monitoring devices.
- Additionally, the central government gains the authority to frame rules for selecting SPCB chairpersons and issue guidelines for consent-related procedures by state boards.
Source: TH
3. CSIR NAL flies test-drone that can double up as ‘pseudo satellite’
Subject: Science and tech
Section: Msc
Context:
- National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) successfully tests solar-powered High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS), a UAV.
About HAPS:
- HAPS are like drones, except that they are expected to be in the stratosphere — well above where commercial planes fly — and can be powered enough by solar cells and a battery-system to be able to hover for days on end.
Features of High-Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS):
- HAPS can fly at 18-20 km altitude, remain airborne for months, akin to a satellite.
- Cost-effective compared to traditional satellites, offers continuous surveillance.
Benefits/Advantages of HAPS:
- These solar-powered vehicles have been designed to plug the missing link between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying in lower altitudes and conventional satellites in space.
- The use of HAPS is considered for a variety of applications such as:
- telecommunications,
- emergency/public safety communications,
- intelligent transportation systems,
- maritime surveillance,
- environmental monitoring,
- land border control applications, etc.
- Compared to ground-based communication networks, HAPS can cover larger areas with less interference.
- They could also help ease data transfer when used as an intermediate conduit between a satellite and ground-based telecom networks.
- Unlike regular satellites that are expensive to build and launch, HAPS cost far less and are easier to launch.
National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL)
- It is India’s only government aerospace R&D lab, established in 1959 under CSIR.
- Focuses on high-tech aerospace disciplines, advanced test facilities recognized as National Facilities.
- Contributions span five decades, enriching Indian aerospace programs globally.
- Developed critical technologies for strategic sectors, supporting national mission-mode programs.
4. Serum’s HPV vaccine non-inferior to Gardasil: study
Subject: Science and tech
Section: Health
Context:
- Phase-2/3 trial of Serum Institute of India’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervavac conducted at 12 tertiary care hospitals across India in girls and boys aged 9-14 years has found the vaccine to be safe and non-inferior to a comparator vaccine Gardacil manufactured by Merck.
What is CERVAVAC?
- It is India’s first indigenously developed quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine that is said to be effective against four strains of the virus – Type 6, Type 11, Type 16 and Type 18.
- A quadrivalent vaccine is a vaccine that works by stimulating an immune response against four different antigens, such as four different viruses or other microorganisms.
- CERVAVAC is based on VLP (Virus-Like Particles), similar to the Hepatitis B vaccination.
Approval:
- The vaccine has received the Drugs Controller GeneraI of India’s approval and has been cleared by the government advisory panel NTAGI for use in the public health programme.
Significance:
- It has a significant potential to eliminate cervical cancer and it would be helpful if included in national HPV vaccination efforts and offered at a lower cost than existing vaccinations.
- The vaccine is extremely effective only when it’s administered before the first sexual intercourse.
What is Cervical Cancer?
- Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix. It is the 4th most common type of cancer among women, globally and 2nd most common among women in India.
- India contributes the largest share of the global cervical cancer burden; nearly 1 in every 4 deaths globally due to cervical cancer (as per The Lancet study).
- Almost all cervical cancer cases (99%) are linked to infection with high-risk HPV, an extremely common virus transmitted through sexual contact.
- Effective primary (HPV vaccination) and secondary prevention approaches (screening for and treating precancerous lesions) will prevent most cervical cancer cases.
- When diagnosed, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively.
- Cancers diagnosed in late stages can also be controlled with appropriate treatment and palliative care.
- With a comprehensive approach to prevent, screen and treat, cervical cancer can be eliminated as a public health problem within a generation.
5. Rann of Kutch and Dholavira
Subject: Geography
Section: Mapping
Why in news?
- Till not so long ago in Gujarat, the distance from Bhuj to Dholavira was around 240 km via Rapar and Bhachau.
- But in the run-up to the G-20 Summit, the Government of India cleared 31.9 km-long Khavda-Khadir road, through the Rann of Kutch, on a priority basis
- The road was originally sanctioned in 2019, but was delayed, and finally opened for tourists in 2023.
- Dholavira, a UNESCO World Heritage Site was once a Harappan city situated on the island of Khadir, where the remains of the famous Indus Valley Civilisation can be found.
- Because of the new road it takes just 130 km to reach Bhuj, the capital of Kutch.
- The Rann of Kutch is famous for its white salty desert sand and is reputed to be the largest salt desert in the world.
- Motorbike tourists call it as ‘Road to Heaven’.
- There are many other locations for nature lovers in Khadir, such as Fossil Park, Bokad Gado, Bhim Godo, Sonpari, Cheria Bet, Chhipar, Sunset point at Bhanjado Hill, and D
- Tourists interested in bird watching, wildlife, history/archaeological, art and handicraft, tribal studies are already flocking to this area. Many of them also visit Smriti van Earthquake Memorial of Bhuj.
Rann of Kutch
- It is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan.
- It is located mostly in the Kutch district of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan.
- It is divided into the Great Rann and Little Rann.
- It extends east and west, with the Thar Desert to the north and the low hills of Kutch to the south.
- The Indus River Delta lies to the west in southern Pakistan.
- The Little Rann of Kutch lies southeast of the Great Rann, and extends southwards to the Gulf of Kutch.
- The climate of the ecoregion is
- Temperatures average 44 °C during the hot summer months, and can reach highs of 50 °C.
- During the winter the temperature can drop to or below freezing.
- The Rann of Kutch is the only large flooded grasslands zone in the Indomalayan realm.
- The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms.
- It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia.
- The area has desert on one side and the sea on the other enables various ecosystems, including mangroves and desert vegetation.
- The Little Rann of Kutch is home to the Indian wild ass (khur). To conserve this species, the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary (IWAS) was created in 1973.
- In 2008, to project Kutch as an international nature destination, the Government of Gujarat designated the area as the Kutch Biosphere Reserve.
- Biosphere reserves aim to promote sustainable development in the surrounding area, which is reserved for conservation and research.
- Such reserves are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, the Indian Forest Act and the Forest Conservation Act.
- The government provides funds for the conservation of the landscape’s biological diversity and its cultural heritage.
Kutch Desert:
- Kutch Desert covers a vast area to the north of India and northwest by Sindh (Pakistan), west and southwest by the Arabian Sea, and to the northeast by Rajasthan.
- The Rann of Kachchh comprises a unique example of Holocene sedimentation.
- It is connected to the Arabian Sea through Kori Creek in the west and the Gulf of Kachchh in the east, and is very close to sea level.
- The Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in the Indian state of Gujarat, is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the country.
- It is spread in the entire area of the little Rann of Kutch where small grass-covered areas, known as baits, forms the flora and is an important source to support the fauna of the region.
About Dholavira:
- It was discovered in 1968 by archaeologist JagatPati Joshi.
- After Mohen-jo-Daro, Ganweriwala and Harappa in Pakistan and Rakhigarhi in Haryana of India, Dholavira is the fifth largest metropolis of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC).
- The ancient city of Dholavira is an archaeological site at Kachchh District, in the state of Gujarat, which dates from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE.
- Dholavira’s location is on the Tropic of Cancer.
- It is located on Khadirbet island in the Kachchh Desert Wildlife Sanctuary in the Great Rann of Kachchh.
Distinct Features of the Dholavira Site:
- Artifacts that were found here include terracotta pottery, beads, gold and copper ornaments, seals, fish hooks, animal figurines, tools, urns, and some imported vessels.
- Cascading series of water reservoirs.
- Outer fortification.
- Two multi-purpose grounds, one of which was used for festivities and other as a marketplace.
- Nine gates with unique designs.
- Funerary architecture featuring tumulus — hemispherical structures like the Buddhist Stupas.
- Multi-layered defensive mechanisms, extensive use of stone in construction and special burial structures.
- It was also a hub of manufacturing jewellery made of shells and semi-precious stones, like agate and used to export timber.
- Unlike graves at other IVC sites, no mortal remains of humans have been discovered at Dholavira.