Daily Prelims Notes 19 January 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

19 January 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Noise pollution affects dolphins’ ability to communicate
2. Doppler Weather Radars
3. Rare dinosaur eggs found in Narmada Valley show how ancient reptiles shared traits with today’s birds: Study
4. GM food draft regulations favour interests of businesses, not citizens: GM-Free coalition writes to FSSAI
5. Critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise return to lost lake stretches after sand mining ban: Report
6. Temporary relief as plan for Etalin hydel in Arunachal junked
7. Green clearance violations
8. The conflict behind eco-sensitive zones
9. Spot-Bellied Eagle Owl
10. Objectives of SIMI against basic fabric – Centre
11. Draft amendment to IT rules 2021 – fake news
12. Telcos recommend for better tax regime in Budget
13. Regenerative farming can help cut input costs, improve soil health
14. Bill in US House to revoke Pakistan’s Major Non-NATO Ally status
15. Viral Nutrition

1. Noise pollution affects dolphins’ ability to communicate

Subject: Environment

Section : Pollution

Context:

• A new study has found that noise generated by human activity makes it harder for dolphins to communicate and coordinate with each other. As the levels of underwater noise increase, these mammals have to “shout” at each other.

How does anthropogenic noise interrupt the dolphins’ communication?

• Dolphins communicate through squeaks, whistles and clicks.
• They also use echolocation in order to locate food and other objects.
• Anthropogenic noise coming from large commercial ships, military sonars or offshore drilling can severely impact their well-being.
• Impact includes:
  • Raising the volume
  • increasing the length of their calls
  • change the body language

Consequences of increased noise pollution in oceans:

• As sound travels faster in water than air, it makes for an important mode of communication because it can convey a lot of information quickly and over long distances.
• Fish species rely on sounds during reproductive activities, including mate attraction, courtship and mate choice. Noise pollution can disrupt these activities.

Project Dolphin:

• Project Dolphin will involve conservation of Dolphins and the aquatic habitat through use of modern technology especially in enumeration and anti-poaching activities.
• The project will engage the fishermen and other river/ ocean dependent population and will strive for improving the livelihood of the local communities.
• The conservation of Dolphin will also envisage activities which will also help in the mitigation of pollution in rivers and in the oceans.
• It will include oceanic as well as Gangetic river dolphins, which were declared a National Aquatic species in 2010.
• Dolphins are one of the oldest creatures in the world along with some species of turtles, crocodiles and sharks.
• Ganges river dolphins once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. But the species is extinct from most of its early distribution ranges.
• The Ganges river dolphin can only live in freshwater and is essentially blind.
• They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off of fish and other prey, enabling them to “see” an image in their mind.
• IUCN status of Ganges river dolphin:

Gangetic river dolphin

• The Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal. It is a Schedule I animal under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It has been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• The Gangetic river dolphin is one of four freshwater dolphin species in the world. The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China (now extinct), the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.
• The dolphin is found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is blind and finds its way and prey in river waters through echolocation. Bihar is home to around half of the estimated 3,000 Gangetic dolphins in India.
• Dolphins prefer water that is at least five to eight feet deep. They are usually found in turbulent waters, where there are enough fish for them to feed on.
• Gangetic dolphins live in a zone where there is little or no current, helping them save energy. If they sense danger, they can dive into deep waters. The dolphins swim from the no-current zone to the edges to hunt for fish and return.

Indus Dolphin

• Scientific Name: Platanista minor.
• Habitat: Indus river dolphins are one of only four river dolphin species and subspecies in the world that spend all of their lives in freshwater.
• Distribution: The Indus river dolphin is the second most endangered freshwater river dolphin. At present, there are only around 1,800 of these in the Indus in Pakistan. Their population in the Beas River is between eight to 10.
• IUCN status: Endangered.

Characteristics:

• Indus Dolphins are brown/grey in colour.
• They are functionally blind and rely on echolocation to navigate, communicate and hunt prey including prawns, catfish and carp.
• They live for at least for 30 years and grow over 2 metres in length.

2. Doppler Weather Radars

Subject :Geography

Section : Atmosphere

What is RADAR?

• RADAR is the expansion for Radio, Detection and Ranging.
• Its basic components are a transmitter, receiver, antenna, power supply system, signal processing and high computing devices.
• It works on the principle of electromagnetic waves sent out by the transmitter.
  • The same wave that strikes an object/dense medium is reflected back to the receiver.
  • The distance up to the object is determined based on the speed of the electromagnetic wave, and the time to travel to the object and back.
• There are at least ten types of radars.
• Ground Penetrating Radar:
  • It studies the Earth’s crust up to 9-metre in depth.
  • It is being used by the Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE) at Joshimath.
• InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar)
  • It makes high-density measurements over large areas by using radar signals from Earth-orbiting satellites and measures changes in land surface.
  • It is also being used in Joshimath and other parts of Uttarakhand.

Doppler radar:

• A Doppler Radar is a specialised radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance.
  • When the source and the signal are in relative motion to each other, there is a change in the frequency observed by the observer. This is called the Doppler effect.
  • If they are moving closer, the frequency increases and vice versa.
• A Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) works on the Doppler principle.
  • It is designed to improve precision in long-range weather forecasting and surveillance using a parabolic dish antenna and a foam sandwich spherical radome.
• DWR has the equipment to measure rainfall intensity, wind shear and velocity and locate a storm centre and the direction of a tornado or gust front. 

Why DWR is considered superior to other radars?

• Unlike others, a DWR has the ability to detect air motion, wind, speed of wind, rains, temperature, thunderstorms, hail, squalls, lightning, cyclones and cloud movements and volumetric analysis of cloud and reflectivity index, among others.
• It costs approximately ₹10-20 crore per unit.
• The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US uses 148 of them.
• The Indian Army and Air Force have deployed the Indian Doppler Radar (INDRA) for the detection of aircraft and other objects in the air.

DWR in India:

• Currently India have 37 DWRs.
• Most of them are in plain areas, hilly areas and coastal terrain require more.
• The major advantages of DWRs are, they:
  • cover the entire country
  • give the most precise detection of weather parameters including dynamic weather events turbulence, cyclones, thunderstorms or lightning.
  • alone do the volumetric analysis of clouds that help in the quantification of rain forecasts and cyclonic intensity and precipitation; and
  • precisely detect in real-time normal or routine events
  • Lightening forecast, 3 to 5 days in advance.

3. Rare dinosaur eggs found in Narmada Valley show how ancient reptiles shared traits with today’s birds: Study

Subject :Environment

Section: Species in News

Context;

• A group of Indian researchers found rare cases of fossilised dinosaur eggs — an egg within an egg — among 256 newly discovered eggs from the Narmada Valley.

Details of the findings:

• The discovery relates the unique reproductive trait of Titanosaurs- one of the largest dinosaurs to have roamed the Earth- to the modern-day birds.
  • The egg has two yolks; this feature can be seen in birds, suggesting they share similar reproductive traits.
• The unique feature of an egg within the egg has not been reported from any other dinosaur or even in other reptiles.
• The eggs belonged to six species, suggesting a higher diversity of these extinct giants in India.
• Fossilised eggs provide clues on reproductive biology, nesting behaviour and parental care

Similarities with modern-day birds:

• Titanosaurs buried their eggs in shallow pits, a behaviour seen in modern-day crocodiles.
• They nested in colonies, a feature found in about 13 per cent of modern-day birds. They also laid eggs in sequential order like avian species.

Where is the fossil eggs found?

• This region falls between the easternmost Lameta exposures at Jabalpur in the upper Narmada Valley (central India) and Balasinor in the west in the lower Narmada Valley (western central India).
  • Lameta exposure is a sedimentary rock formation known for its dinosaur fossils.
  • These sedimentary rocks are mostly exposed along the Narmada Valley.
• The fossil records here are largely concealed by Deccan volcanic flows, which prevents their removal by erosion.

Significance of Narmada valley:

• Earlier the 50,000-year-old archaeological remains were discovered in Narmada valley.
• The study of the Narmada Basin is important because of its geographical location which is very strategic for the migration of animal populations from North to South and East to West.
• It is not only rich in fossils and archaeological sites, but it has a long history of human occupation.

4. GM food draft regulations favour interests of businesses, not citizens: GM-Free coalition writes to FSSAI

Coalition for a GM-Free India:

• It is a large informal nationwide network of organisations and individuals concerned about the environmental release of GMOs.
• Aim: The coalition is campaigning and advocating to keep India GM-Free, and to shift our farming towards a sustainable path.
• This network is opposed to the environmental release of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) given the potential adverse health and environmental impacts, in addition to the fact that GMOs also are taking away valuable research and other resources from more lasting solutions.

Why in news:

• Coalition for a GM-Free India has expressed disappointment and concern over the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) draft regulations on genetically modified (GM) food.
• They said the regulations were giving short shrift to citizens’ interests in favour of business interests.

Concerns raised over the draft regulation include:

• In the draft regulations, FSSAI had proposed mandatory prior approval from the regulator to manufacture, sell and import food or ingredients produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO).
• Besides, all GMO food products, containing 1 per cent or more of the GM ingredient considered individually, must be labelled with the words ‘contains genetically modified organisms.
• There was no provision for a long-term comprehensive and independent testing regime.
• It does not have provisions for independent data analysis and public scrutiny.
• The draft regulations have ignored GM feed, even though GM feed (animal feed) also affects the safety of the human food chain.
• The draft regulations only refer to the food authority deciding on applications, which do not have biosafety experts.

5. Critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise return to lost lake stretches after sand mining ban: Report

Subject :Environment

Section: Species in News

Context:

• Checking sand mining can help the population of the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise to rebound, scientists found.

About the Yangtze finless porpoise:

• It belongs to the group of animals which also includes dolphins and whales.
• It is a species of toothless whale.
• It is endemic to the Yangtze River in China, making it the country’s only known freshwater cetacean following the possible extinction of the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer).
• It is also the only freshwater porpoise in the world and breeds just once in 18 months.
• It is the most critically endangered of its taxonomic group and the species has an 86 per cent chance of becoming extinct in the next century.
• Earlier, the Yangtze river dolphin has declared extinct.
• Threats include Overfishing, increased shipping traffic and noise pollution.

Sand mining and biodiversity loss:

• The rampant sand mining around Dongting lake (which connects to the Yangtze river, China) led to the rapid decline of the Yangtze finless porpoise.
• Though the population has risen after the ban on sand mining was imposed in 2017.
• Sand mining, which has tripled in the last two decades, is an emerging concern for global biodiversity. “Over 50 billion tonnes of sand is mined every year.”
• Higher urbanisation has made sand the second-most extracted natural resource in the world after water.
• Sand mining is most rampant in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

6. Temporary relief as plan for Etalin hydel in Arunachal junked

Subject :Geography

Section: Hydrology

Context:

• The proposed Etalin hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh has been scrapped in its present form because of the environmental threats due to the plant in a biodiversity hotspot.

Details:

1. The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) had written to the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) detailing geological and seismic risks and threats to biodiversity in 2015– when appraisals to grant environmental clearance (EC) to the project were underway.

About Etalin hydel project:

• 3,097-megawatt Etalin Hydroelectric Project (EHEP)
• Developed by joint venture between Jindal Power Ltd and the Hydropower Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh Ltd.
• The plan combined two run-of-the-river schemes with limited storage requiring concrete gravity dams on rivers Tangon and Dri.
• The hydroelectric project will require the diversion of 1,165.66 hectares of forest land and the felling of more than 280,000 trees in the area.

Other Hydroelectric power projects in North East region of India:

7. Green clearance violations

Subject :Environment

Section: Laws

Context:

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has set a four-month deadline for remedial actions and recovering damages from the Kulda coal mine run by Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) in Odisha and the Tamnar thermal plant operated by Jindal Power Limited (JPL) in Chhattisgarh for transporting coal through villages in violation of environmental clearance (EC) conditions.

Kulda coal mine:

• The Kulda coal mine is an opencast mine operated by Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India.
• The total capacity of 21 million tonnes per annum, in the Ib Valley coalfield in Odisha state, India.
• Coal type: lignite coal

Tamnar thermal power plant:

• The Tamnar power station is a 3,400 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant located in Tamnar, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.
• Owned and operated by: Jindal power, a subsidiary of Jindal steel and power limited (JSPL).

Dibang Hydro Power Project:

• It is a flood control cum hydroelectric power project planned to be developed on the Dibang River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River, in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Dam site is located about 1.5 km upstream of the confluence of the Ashu Pani and Dibang rivers and about 43 km from Roing, District Headquarters.
• The project would moderate flooding in the areas downstream of the Dibang Dam during the entire monsoon period to the extent of 3000 cumecs.
• It will be developed with an estimated investment of USD 4 billion.
• The Dibang hydropower project is expected to generate up to 11,222 million units (MU) of electricity a year.

Lower Subansiri Hydropower project:

• It is an under-construction gravity dam on the Subansiri River in North Eastern India.
• It is located 2.3 km (1.4 mi) upstream of the Subansiri River in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Described as a run-of-the-river project by NHPC Limited, the Project is expected to supply 2,000 MW of power when completed.
• The project has experienced several problems during construction including landslides, re-design and opposition.
• It was expected to be completed in 2018, but still under-construction.
• If completed as planned, it will be the largest hydroelectric project in India.

8. The conflict behind eco-sensitive zones

Subject : Environment

Section : Environmental Laws

Concept :

• Creation of Ecologically sensitive zones (ESZ) across the country has led to protests in states such as Kerala and other regions.
• The Supreme Court in June 2022 gave its directions on ESZs wherein the Court held that the MoEFCC guidelines must be implemented in the area proposed in the draft notification awaiting finalisation and within a 10-km radius of yet-to-be-proposed protected areas.

Eco-Sensitive Zones

• Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) are also known as Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs).
• Eco-sensitive zones are areas notified by the MoEFCC around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
• As per the National Board for Wildlife NBWL, the delineation of eco-sensitive zones have to be site-specific, and the activities should be regulative in nature and not prohibitive unless required.
• The basic aim is to regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries to minimize the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas.
• They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.

Implementation of Ecologically sensitive zones (ESZs)

• According to the Wildlife Conservation Strategy of 2002 areas within 10 km of the boundaries of protected areas must be notified as ecologically fragile zones under Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment Protection Act 1986 and its Rules 5(viii) and (x).
• The MoEFCC was entrusted to undertake measures to protect the environment by regulating and prohibiting industries, operations and processes.
• However, Rule 5(1)(vi) had provisions for permitting environmentally compatible land-use in areas around protected areas.
• Further, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) in 2005 decided to define site-specific ESZs to regulate specific activities instead of a blanket ban on them. Thus, the MoEFCC directed the States and UTs to propose ESZs.
• As per the guidelines of the MoEFCC, in order to declare areas as ESZs, a committee consisting of the Wildlife Warden, an ecologist, and an official from the local government was to determine the extent of each ESZ.
• The Chief Wildlife Warden was entrusted with the task of preparing a list of those activities that are to be prohibited or restricted or that can be allowed with additional safeguards.
• Later, the State government must submit this list along with the geographical description, biodiversity values, the rights of local communities, their economic potential and implications for their livelihoods, as a proposal to the MoEFCC for notification.
• Further, the State government is mandated to come up with a draft Zonal Master Plan within two years of notification.

9. Spot-Bellied Eagle Owl

Subject : Environment

Section : Species in news

Concept :

• Spot-Bellied Eagle Owl (Bubo Nipalensis) is known to be spotted in dense wet lowland and hilly forests.
• The Spot-Bellied Eagle Owls are large and very powerful predatory bird species.
• These species are found to be distributed across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
• In India, the bird species is distributed in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.
• Spot-Bellied Eagle Owls are predominantly nocturnal, but will on occasion hunt by day.
• Further, they are also known to hunt larger prey such as small deers, golden jackals, hares, civets and chevrotains.
• The bird makes a strange scream similar to humans because of which it is referred to as the “ghost of the forest” in India and “devil bird” in Sri Lanka.
• IUCN red list status: Least Concern
• WPA, 1972: Schedule IV protection
• CITES: Appendix II protection

10. Objectives of SIMI against basic fabric – Centre

Subject : Governance

Section : Acts

Concept :

• A petition seeking quashing of the July 2019 ban on SIMI as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 came up before a division bench of the Supreme Court on January 18, 2023.
• The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) is mobilizing Muslim support to create a ‘Khilafat’, it wants to replace Indian nationalism with an “international Islamic order” and considers idol worship a “sin”, the Home Ministry earlier The Supreme Court has listed the purposes for organization ban.

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967

• UAPA was passed in 1967. It aims at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
• Unlawful activity refers to any action taken by an individual or association intended to disrupt the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.
• The Act assigns absolute power to the central government, by way of which if the Centre deems an activity as unlawful then it may, by way of an Official Gazette, declare it so.
• It has death penalty and life imprisonment as highest punishments.
• Under UAPA, both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged. It will be applicable to the offenders in the same manner, even if crime is committed on a foreign land, outside India.
• Under the UAPA, the investigating agency can file a charge sheet in maximum 180 days after the arrests and the duration can be extended further after intimating the court.
• The 2004 amendment, added “terrorist act” to the list of offences to ban organisations for terrorist activities, under which 34 outfits were banned.
• Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory.
• In August, Parliament cleared the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 to designate individuals as terrorists on certain grounds provided in the Act.
• The Act empowers the Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) to grant approval of seizure or attachment of property when the case is investigated by the said agency.
• The Act empowers the officers of the NIA, of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases of terrorism in addition to those conducted by the DSP or ACP or above rank officer in the state.

11. Draft amendment to IT rules 2021 – fake news

Subject : Governance

Concept :

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) introduced these draft amendments to the IT Rules 2021 on Tuesday, as it extended the time for public consultation on regulations for online gaming platforms.
• News identified as fake or false by the Press Information Bureau’s fact check unit needs to be removed from social media platforms, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a proposed amendment to the Information Technology Rules 2021.
• The recent proposal introduced in the section ‘Due Diligence by Intermediaries and Grievance Redressal Mechanism’ of IT Rules 2021, says that intermediaries “shall make reasonable” efforts to not “host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit” such information on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Key Amendments to IT Rules, 2021

• New Guidelines for Social Media Intermediaries:
  • Currently, intermediaries are only required to inform users about not uploading certain categories of harmful/unlawful content.
  • These amendments impose a legal obligation on intermediaries to take reasonable efforts to prevent users from uploading such content. The new provision will ensure that the intermediary’s obligation is not a mere formality.
  • The amendment requires intermediaries to respect the rights guaranteed to users under the Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, therefore, including a reasonable expectation of due diligence, privacy and transparency.
  • For effective communication of the rules and regulations of the intermediary, it is important that the communication is done in regional Indian languages as well.
• Amendments to the Rule 3:
  • The grounds in subclause 1 of rule 3 (rule 3(1)(b)(ii)) have been rationalized by removing the words ‘defamatory’ and ‘libellous’.
  • Whether any content is defamatory or libellous will be determined through judicial review.
  • Some of the content categories in subclause 1 of rule 3 (rule 3(1)(b)) have been rephrased to deal particularly with misinformation, and content that could incite violence between different religious/caste groups.
• Establishment of Grievance Appellate Committee(s):
  • Grievance Appellate Committee(s) will be established to allow users to appeal against the inaction of, or decisions taken by intermediaries on user complaints.
  • However, users will always have the right to approach courts for any remedy.

12. Telcos recommend for better tax regime in Budget

Subject : Economy

Section : Fiscal Policy

Concept :

• Telecom service providers (TSPs), on Wednesday, sought a reformative tax regime for the industry in the upcoming Budget, and said Universal Service Obligation (USO) contribution of five per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) may be suspended till the existing USO corpus is exhausted.
• The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) also said that the licence fee be brought down from three per cent to one per cent at the earliest, to cover only administrative costs by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)/ government.
• COAI has requested to introduce a special regime for the telecom operators under Section 72 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, wherein the business losses can be carried forward and set-off till Sixteen (16) assessment years from the existing 8 years.
• COAI is the apex body that represents the telecom sector.

Gross Revenue

• The present definition of Gross Revenue (GR) includes revenue from all telecom activities.
• The term telecom activity is not defined but may include revenue from activities believed to be incidental to telecom activity.
• It is requested that the definition of GR should make it abundantly clear that the revenue from activities for which no license is required, should not be a part of GR.

Universal Service Obligation

• The New Telecom Policy – 1999 (NTP’99) provided that the resources for meeting the Universal Service Obligation (USO) would be raised through a ‘Universal Access Levy (UAL)‘, which would be a percentage of the revenue earned by the operators under various licenses.
• The Universal Service Support Policy came into effect from 01.04.2002.
• The Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 giving statutory status to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was passed by both Houses of Parliament in December 2003.

Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF):

• USOF ensures that there is universal non-discriminatory access to quality ICT (Information and Communications Technology) services at economically efficient prices to people in rural and remote areas.
• It was created under the Ministry of Communications in 2002.
• It is a non-lapsable fund, i.e., the unspent amount under a targeted financial year does not lapse and is accrued for next years’ spending.
• All credits to this fund require parliamentary approval and it has statutory support under Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003.

13. Regenerative farming can help cut input costs, improve soil health

Subject : Environment

Section : Agriculture

Concept :

• A project undertaken by Chennai-based food and agtech start-up WayCool through its model farm Outgrow Agriculture Research Station (OARS) in regenerative farming has shown that cultivation costs can be reduced, while enriching the soil organic carbon value.
• Findings suggest when regenerative farming approach is integrated with the right crop selection, know-how and resources, the improvement in soil organic carbon and reduction in the cost of cultivation is significant.

Regenerative Agriculture/farming

• Regenerative agriculture is a way of farming that focuses on soil health.
• When soil is healthy, it produces more food and nutrition, stores more carbon and increases biodiversity.
• It includes the use of natural inputs, minimum-till, mulching, multi-cropping and sowing of diverse and native varieties.
• Natural inputs help improve soil structure and its organic carbon content.
• Planting water-guzzling and water-efficient crops together or in alternating cycles reduces the frequency and intensity of irrigation.
• They conserve energy used by irrigation aids such as pumps.
• In India, the Union government is promoting regenerative agriculture with an aim to reduce the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and to lower input costs.

Potential Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture

• Multiple benefits: Regenerative farming can improve:
• Crop yields
• Volume of crops produced
• Health of soil
• Soil’s ability to retain water
• Reducing soil erosion.
• Feeding people: Improved yields will help feed the world as the global population grows.
• Environmental benefits: Regenerative farming can also reduce emissions from agriculture and turn the croplands and pastures, which cover up to 40% of Earth’s ice-free land area, into carbon sinks.
• These are environments that naturally absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

14. Bill in US House to revoke Pakistan’s Major Non-NATO Ally status

Subject : International Relations

Section : Msc

Concept :

• A US Congressman has recently moved a Bill in the House of Representatives to revoke Pakistan’s designation as a major Non-NATO Ally.
• The Bill says that for the country to keep the status, the US President must submit a certification to the Congress that Islamabad has met certain conditions.

Major non-NATO ally (MNNA)

• Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the United States to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the US Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
• The MNNA status was first created in 1987.
• The designation does not automatically include a mutual defense pact with US, but confers a variety of military and financial advantages that otherwise are not obtainable by non-NATO countries.
• A major non-NATO ally is eligible for loans of material, supplies, or equipment for cooperative research, development, testing, or evaluation purposes.
• They are also eligible as a location for US-owned War Reserve Stockpiles to be placed on its territory outside of US military facilities.
• There are currently 18 major non-NATO allies, excluding Afghanistan, across 4 continents (10 in Asia, 3 in Africa, 3 in South America, and 2 in Oceania).
• They are Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia.
• Taiwan is treated as an MNNA, without formal designation as such.

15. Viral Nutrition

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Biotechnology

Concept :

• The authors of the study have reported that a particular genus of plankton can consume viruses as well as “grow and divide given only viruses to eat”.
• Plankton of the genus Halteria, they claim to have found, can each consume 10,000 to a million virus particles a day, increase their population using the metabolised energy, and provide more food for the zooplanktons that consume the Halteria.
• This could be significant for the marine food chain.
• Halteria plankton are found in large numbers in freshwater bodies. They are heterotrophs meaning they can’t produce their own food. Instead, they are well­ known bacterivores — they consume bacteria to power themselves.
• In the new study’s paper, the authors wrote that by also consuming viruses for nutrition, Halteria plankton can recover the nutrients lost in the viral shunt and bring them back into the food chain.

Viral Shunt

• The viral shunt is a mechanism that prevents marine microbial particulate organic matter (POM) from migrating up trophic levels by recycling them into dissolved organic matter (DOM), which can be readily taken up by microorganisms.
• The DOM recycled by the viral shunt pathway is comparable to the amount generated by the other main sources of marine DOM.
• Viruses can easily infect microorganisms in the microbial loop due to their relative abundance compared to microbes.
• Prokaryotic and eukaryotic mortality contribute to carbon nutrient recycling through cell lysis.
• There is evidence as well of nitrogen (specifically ammonium) regeneration. This nutrient recycling helps stimulates microbial growth.
• As much as 25% of the primary production from phytoplankton in the global oceans may be recycled within the microbial loop through the viral shunt.