Daily Prelims Notes 14 May 2024

Daily Prelims Notes

14 May 2024

1. First human recipient of pig kidney transplant dies

Sub: Science and tech

Sec: health

Context:

• The first recipient of a modified pig kidney transplant passed away on May 11, around two months after the surgery was carried out.

What is Xenotransplantation?

• Xenotransplantation, or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.
• Such cells, tissues or organs are called xenografts or xenotransplants.
• Xenotransplantation is any procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation or infusion into a human recipient of either
  • (a) live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or 
  • (b) human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues or organs
• Xenotransplantation involving the heart was first tried in humans in the 1980s. 
• At present, various large animals have been used in xenotransplantation, including pigs, monkeys, chimpanzees and baboons. 
• Pigs are considered the most ideal organ xenograft donor because their organ size, physiological metabolism and immune system are similar to those of human beings.
• The need for such a procedure was felt because of the significant gap between the number of transplantations needed by patients and the availability of donor organs.
• HMS surgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital performed the first successful human organ transplant of a kidney  in 1954.

Why are pigs often used for xenotransplantation?

• The pig’s anatomical and physiological parameters are similar to that of humans, and the breeding of pigs in farms is widespread and cost-effective.
• Many varieties of pig breeds are farmed, which provides an opportunity for the size of the harvested organs to be matched with the specific needs of the human recipient.
• In January 2022, the first xenotransplantation of a genetically-modified pig heart was done.

What Methodology is employed in Xenotransplantation?

• The first step involved genetically modifying the pig organs to be more compatible with humans. 
• The kidney used in the new surgery was modified using the gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 to:
  • Remove certain pig genes that produce sugars with antibodies our immune systems react to.
  • Add certain human genes to improve the kidney’s compatibility with humans.
  • Inactivate viruses present in all pig genomes, known as porcine endogenous retroviruses, in the donor pig to eliminate risk of infection in the recipient.

What are the complications in xenotransplantation?

• It has to be ensured that the body does not reject the organ.
• One method of doing this is embedding the pig’s thymus gland, responsible for educating the immune system, underneath the outer layer of the kidney. 
• This helps keep away any new or delayed immune responses.

What is Crispr-CAS9?

• CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome editing tool that is creating a buzz in the science world.
• It is faster, cheaper and more accurate than previous techniques of editing DNA and has a wide range of potential applications.
• CRISPR-Cas9 is a unique technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence.
• It is currently the simplest, most versatile and precise method of genetic manipulation and is therefore causing a buzz in the science world.

2. What is the legal position on live-in relationships?

Sub: Polity

Sec: Constitution

Context:

• The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court stated  that a Muslim cannot claim rights in a live-in relationship when he or she has a living spouse.

What are Live in Relationships?

• The concept of a live-in relationship is not defined anywhere in India. 
• It refers to a proposal of two individuals living together with consent.
• It allows an individual to understand each other which helps in making an informed decision for marriage.
• Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis.
• The concept of a live-in relationship was recognised in Payal Sharma versus Nari Niketan by the Allahabad High Court.

Recent Case:

• A two judge Bench of Justices A.R. Masoodi and A.K. Srivastava called such a relationship against the tenets of Islam while hearing a writ petition.
• The judges stated that Islamic tenets do not permit live-in relationships during the subsisting marriage.

Constitutional Dimensions:

Right to Cohabitation:

• Article 19(1)(e) of the Indian Constitution states that every citizen has the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
• So the adults who wish to live together have the right to reside anywhere and cannot be denied accommodation based on their marital status.
• In Khushboo V Kanniammal case , the Supreme Court held that a live-in relationship comes within the ambit of Right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. 

What have the Courts said about live-in relationships?

• India does not have any laws that directly address live-in partnerships.
  • For a man and a woman to live together is part of ‘the right to life’ and therefore, a live-in relationship is no longer an offense. 
• According to the Supreme Court judgment in Badri Prasad v. Dy. Director of Consolidation (1978), live-in relationships in India are legal but subject to caveats like age of marriage, consent and soundness of mind.
•  In Lata Singh vs state of U.P 2006 case , Supreme Court held that a live-in relationship between two consenting adults of opposite sex, though perceived as immoral, does not amount to any offense under the law.
• The Punjab and Haryana High Court stated that a couple living together without obtaining a divorce from their previous spouse cannot be classified as being in a “live-in relationship” or being in a union similar to marriage.

3. China’s share in India’s industrial goods imports jump to 30% from 21% in last 15 years: GTRI

Sub: Economy

Sec: External Sector

Context:

• Beijing’s share in New Delhi’s imports of such goods rose to 30% from 21% in the last 15 years.

More on news:

• As per the report of the economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), the growing trade deficit with China is a cause of concern.
• China has reclaimed its position as India’s largest trading partner, surpassing the United States after two years.

Recent trends:

• From 2019 to 2024, India’s exports to China have stagnated at around $16 billion annually.
• Imports from China have surged from $70.3 billion in 2018-19 to over $101 billion in 2023-24.
• Cumulative trade deficit exceeding $387 billion over five years.
• Over the last 15 years, China’s share in India’s industrial product imports has increased significantly, from 21% to 30%.
• Growth in imports from China has been much faster than India’s overall import growth.
• China’s exports to India growing 2.3 times faster than India’s total imports from all other countries
• In 2023-24, India’s total merchandise imports amounted to $677.2 billion, with $101.8 billion of that coming from China.
• China accounted for 15% of India’s total imports.
• Out of these imports from China, $100 billion or 98.5% were in major industrial product categories.
• China’s contribution is quite significant, representing 30% of India’s imports in the industrial product sector. 
• Half of the imports from China consist of capital goods and machinery, indicating a critical need for focused research and development in this area.

Rising India Dependence:

• The key sectors, where India’s dependence is rising significantly are electronics, telecom and electrical; machinery; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; products of iron, steel and base metal; plastics; textiles and clothing; automobiles; medical, leather, paper, glass, ships, aircraft and remaining categories.
• April-January 2023-24, the electronics, telecom and electrical products sectors had the highest import value at $67.8 billion, with China contributing $26.1 billion.
• In the machinery sector, China accounts for $19 billion, which is 39.6% of India’s imports in the sector.
• Intermediate goods like organic chemicals, APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients), and plastics, which represents 37% of imports.

India’s trade perspectives with other countries:

• The US was the largest partner in 2021-22 and 2022-23. 
• In 2023-24, the UAE with USD 83.6 billion was the third largest trading partner of India.
• It was followed by Russia ($65.7 billion), Saudi Arabia ($43.4 billion), and Singapore ($35.6 billion). India’s trade deficit in FY 2023-24 is estimated to be $78.12 billion, an improvement of 35.77 percent compared to FY 2022-23, when it was $121.62 billion.
• During the last five years, trade with the US showed positive growth, with exports increasing significantly by 47.9 per cent from $52.41 billion to $77.52 billion.
• Saudi Arabia  showed a more balanced growth, with exports more than doubling and imports rising at a slower pace.
• Russia vaulted to the second spot amongst India’s top import sources, surpassing the UAE and the US, in 2023-24. India’s import from Russia rose 34 per cent to $61.44 billion during the fiscal comprising mostly oil. The UAE slipped one spot to the third place with imports from the country declining 9.8 per cent to $48.01 billion. The US, too, slid a rank to the fourth spot with imports from the country falling 19.83 per cent to $40.77 billion
• Russia’s trade figures have seen a dramatic increase, with exports growing by 78.3% and imports soaring by 952%, leading to a significantly widened trade deficit.
• Exports to the UAE rose by 18.3 percent from $30.13 billion to $35.63 billion, and imports increased substantially by 61.2 per cent from $29.79 billion to $48.02 billion.

What is Trade Deficit?

• Trade deficits occur when a country imports more goods and services than it exports, resulting in a negative balance of trade.
• They can affect domestic industries, employment, and economic growth, and are influenced by factors such as exchange rates, trade policies, and global economic conditions.

What are Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API)?

• An active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is the component of an over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medication that produces its intended health effects.
• These are the active ingredients contained in a medicine.
• It is that part of the medicine that produces the intended therapeutic effects.
• Only a small amount of the API is required to produce the effect and so the medicine contains only the required amount of the API.
• China is one of the largest producers of Key Starting Material (KSM) and APIs in the world.

What is the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI)?

• GTRI aims to create high quality and jargon-free outputs for Governments and Industry on issues related to trade, technology and investment from the perspective of development and inequality reduction.

4. What are India’s stakes in Iran’s Chabahar port?

Sub: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

• India and Iran signed a 10-year contract for the operation of a terminal at the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran. 
• Signing a long-term contract with Iran is part of India’s strategic and economic vision for Central Asia and beyond.

Location:

• Chabahar is a deep-water port in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, closest to India among Iranian ports, and provides direct access to the open sea, facilitating large cargo ships.
• Located 72 km west of Pakistan’s Gwadar port.

Development of Chabhar Port- Timeline:

• Discussions on developing Chabahar started in 2002 between India and Iran, underlining its strategic importance during the Iran-Iraq war. It gained a formal structure with the New Delhi Declaration in 2003, aiming to link South Asia with the Persian Gulf and beyond.
• The project faced delays due to changing international dynamics, particularly India’s growing ties with the U.S., which had adversarial relations with Iran.
• The situation improved post-2015 following Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, leading to the signing of a trilateral agreement between India, Iran, and Afghanistan in 2016 to establish a transport and transit corridor.
  • India constructed a 218-km road from Delaram in western Afghanistan to Zaranj on the Iran-Afghan border to link with Chabahar.
• As of 2018, India has been operating the port through India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), handling substantial cargo and container traffic.
• Chabahar has been pivotal in delivering humanitarian aid, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and facilitating trade routes to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Strategic Connectivity and Significance:

• Chabahar is crucial in the context of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), aiming to enhance connectivity between India, Central Asia, and Europe via Iran.
• Despite international pressures and challenges, India’s strategic focus on Chabahar underlines its commitment to securing economic and geopolitical leverage in the region.
• The port not only enhances India’s connectivity to Central Asia but also serves as a counterbalance to Chinese expansionist strategies under its Belt and Road Initiative.

International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC):

• Proposed in 2000, the INSTC was designed as a transport route from India to Russia via Iran, offering an alternative to the conventional Suez Canal route.
• The corridor spans 7,200 km incorporating sea, rail, and road components, crossing multiple countries and aimed at enhancing India’s access to Central Asian and Eurasian markets.
• Planned route:
  • The INSTC envisages the movement of goods from Mumbai to Bandar Abbas in Iran by sea; from Bandar Abbas to Bandar-e-Anzali, an Iranian port on the Caspian Sea, by road; from Bandar-e-Anzali to Astrakhan, a Caspian port in the Russian Federation by ship across the Caspian Sea; and onward to other parts of the Russian Federation and Europe by rail.
• Participating Countries: Besides India, Russia, and Iran, countries such as Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Oman, and Syria have signed onto the project. Bulgaria has joined as an observer state.

Operationalisation:

• • Dry runs conducted in 2014 and 2017 demonstrated that the INSTC route is more cost-effective and faster than the Suez Canal route, leading to the operational start between 2018-19. The first major commercial consignment through INSTC was sent in July 2022.
• Geopolitical significance:
  • The INSTC serves as an economic alternative for Russia amid Western sanctions and provides India with a route that bypasses Pakistan.
  • However, European hesitancy towards routing through Russia post-Ukraine conflict brings alternative routes, such as Armenia’s proposed corridor to Europe via Bulgaria, into focus.
• Challenges:
  • Russia- Ukraine conflict
  • Armenia- Azerbaijan conflict
  • China advances the “Middle Corridor” as part of its global infrastructure strategy, potentially competing with the INSTC.
  • Lack of proper finances

Source: IE

5. Semal trees are being wiped out in Rajasthan due to Udaipur’s Holi

Sub: Environment

Sec: Places in news

Context:

• Holika Dahan in Udaipur: The bonfire traditionally uses a semal tree (silk cotton tree or Bombax ceiba L.) as its central pillar. This tree is significant not only for its use during Holi but also for its ecological and medicinal value.

About Semel Tree (silk cotton tree or Bombax ceiba L.):

• Commonly known as Cotton tree, Malabar silk-cotton tree, red silk-cotton, red cotton tree, or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok.
• This Asian tropical tree has a straight tall trunk and its leaves are deciduous in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage.
• The tree is widely planted in southeastern Asian countries and regions (such as Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, southern China and Taiwan, etc.).

Ecological Importance of Semal Tree:

• The semal tree supports various wildlife species including rock bees, the golden-crowned sparrow, and Hanuman langurs, among others. It is described as a “one-tree wildlife sanctuary”.
• Various tribal communities value the semal for its resources—food, fodder, and materials for crafting instruments and utensils.
  • Members of tribal communities consume the tree’s reddish root for food during the monsoons.
  • Larvae of the moth Bucculatrix crateracma feed on its leaves.
  • The golden-crowned sparrow weaves the lining of its nests with white cotton from its seeds.
  • The Dysdercus bugs, the Indian crested porcupine, Hanuman langurs, and some other species feast on the nectar in its flowers.

Conservation Challenges

• Annually, around 1,500-2,000 semal trees or branches are cut and used for Holika Dahan festivities in Udaipur, despite legal protections under various forest acts.
• The once-common crimson flower of the semal is now rarely seen, signalling a decline in its population due to extensive cutting.
• Tribal members involved in cutting semal trees see it as an economic opportunity, given the low effort and cost of harvesting wild trees compared to cultivated crops.
• The demand from urban areas, particularly for large Holika Dahan events, drives the cutting of semal trees.
• Little formal documentation or research since a 2009 study.

Efforts and Initiatives for Conservation

• Semal Conservation Mission: Initiated in 2008 by Dr Vartika Jain, this group comprises various professionals aiming to raise awareness about the semal tree’s importance and encourage alternative practices for Holika Dahan, like using an iron pole instead of a semal tree.
• Government Response: There is a perceived lack of interest from local and state government bodies in enforcing laws to protect the semal tree, and it is not listed among the state’s ‘rare, threatened, and endangered’ species.

Source: TH

6. Rhinos, elephants, pangolins, cedars, rosewoods & agarwood most affected by illegal wildlife trade: UNODC

Sub: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• The 2024 World Wildlife Crime Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime offers a comprehensive analysis of the illegal wildlife trade from 2015 to 2021.

World Wildlife Crime Report:

• It is the 3rd edition (2024) of the report and earlier editions were published in 2016 and 2020.
• It probes trends in the illicit trafficking of protected wildlife species.
• It also presents systematic analyses of wildlife crime harms and impacts, probes the factors driving wildlife trafficking trends, and takes stock of current knowledge about the effectiveness of the different types of intervention being pursued to resolve this problem.

Major Findings on Species Impacted:

• Key Species: The rhino and the cedar were the most affected species, with rhino horns and cedar trees being heavily targeted by traffickers.

Challenges and Adaptability of Traffickers:

• Traffickers increasingly use technology to reach global markets, complicating enforcement efforts.
• Corruption acts as a significant barrier to effective regulation and law enforcement.

Trade in Wildlife:

• Illegal wildlife trade encompasses unlawful actions related to the capturing, gathering, transportation, and commerce of wildlife and their commodities.
  • This includes live animals, various animal components, and derivatives. 
• In India, the trade involving more than 1,800 species of wild animals, plants, and their derivatives is forbidden as per the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):

• Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
• Established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention.
• It is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime, in addition to being responsible for implementing the United Nations lead programme on terrorism.
• Funding: It relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments, to carry out the majority of our work.
• Functions:
  • It works to educate people throughout the world about the dangers of drug abuse.
  • Strengthen international action against illicit drug production and trafficking and drug-related crime.
  • It also works to improve crime prevention and assist with criminal justice reform to strengthen the rule of law, promote stable and viable criminal justice systems and combat the growing threats of transnational organized crime and corruption.
  • In 2002, the UN General Assembly approved an expanded programme of activities for the Terrorism Prevention Branch of UNODC. The activities focus on assisting States, on request, in ratifying and implementing the eighteen universal legal instruments against terrorism.