Daily Prelims Notes 20 April 2023
- April 20, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
20 April 2023
Table Of Contents
- National Quantum Mission
- Indian scientists find genetic markers associated with premature births
- India underestimating heatwave impact
- KFRI on a clear-the-air campaign for bats
- Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE)
- Delay in 2021 Census by at least 3 years
- Carbon Offset
- India to have more people than China by mid-2023: UN
- Additional Judges
- Kyiv receives Patriot Missiles from US
Subject: Science and technology
Section: Computer
Context: The Union Cabinet approved the National Quantum Mission with an allocation of ₹6,003.65 crore.
Details:
- The mission puts India among the top six leading nations that have begun research and development in quantum technologies.
- The six other nations which are currently carrying out research and development in the segment include the US, Canada, China, Austria, Finland and Scotland.
- The Union Cabinet also approved the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023 that include provisions to curb transmission of pirated film content on the internet.
About The National Quantum Mission:
- The mission aims to make India a leading nation in the quantum technology sector and promote economic growth.
- The total cost of the mission is over six thousand crore rupees.
- The mission will run from 2023-24 to 2030-31.
- Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the mission will give India a quantum jump in the world arena.
- The National Quantum Mission will develop four broad themes — Quantum Computing, Quantum Communication, Quantum Sensing and Metrology and Quantum Material and Devices.
Scope of the mission:
- The mission will look at development of satellite-based secure communications between a ground station and a receiver located with 3,000 km during the first three years.
- For satellite-based communication within Indian cities, the National Quantum Mission will lay communication lines using Quantum Key Distribution for over 2,000 km.
- For long distances quantum communication, especially with other countries, tests will be conducted in the coming years.
- The mission will focus on developing quantum computers (qubit) with physical qubit capacities ranging between 50 and 1,000 qubits developed over the next eight years.
- Computers up to 50 physical qubits will be developed over three years, 50 – 100 physical qubits in five years and computers up to 1,000 physical qubits in eight years.
Significance of the National Quantum Mission:
- The National Quantum Mission will have a positive impact on several industries, including communication, health, finance, energy, drug design, and space applications.
- The mission aligns with national priorities such as Digital India, Make in India, Skill India, Stand-up India, Start-up India, Self-reliant India, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
- The mission seeks to promote scientific and industrial research and development in Quantum Technology.
- It aims to create a dynamic and innovative ecosystem in the field of quantum technology.
- The mission will facilitate the growth and expansion of quantum technology in India.
Quantum Technology
- About: Quantum Technology is based on the principles of Quantum mechanics that was developed in the early 20th century to describe nature at the scale of atoms and elementary particles.
- The first phase of this revolutionary technology has provided the foundations of understanding of the physical world and led to ubiquitous inventions such as lasers and semiconductor transistors.
- The second revolution is currently underway with the goal of putting properties of quantum mechanics in the realms of computing.
A Comparison between India and China:
- R&D in China: China started its research and development (R&D) in the field of quantum technology in 2008.
- In 2022, China boasts of developing the world’s first quantum satellite, creating a quantum communication line between Beijing and Shanghai, and owning two of the world’s fastest quantum computers.
- This was a result of decade-long research carried out in the hope of achieving critical breakthroughs.
- India: Quantum Technology remains a field highly concentrated in long-term R&D in India.
- Just a few hundred researchers, industry professionals, academicians, and entrepreneurs are in the field right now without a constant focus on R&D.
Quantum Tech and Private Sector: Large Technology Corporations such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM have dedicated programmes for quantum computing and its applications.
- Similarly, several Indian startups such as QNu Labs, BosonQ, and Qulabs.ai are also doing remarkable work in developing quantum-based applications for cryptography, computing, and cybersecurity.
2. Indian scientists find genetic markers associated with premature births
Subject : Science and technology
Section: Biotechnology
What is the research about?
- For the first time in South Asia, Indian scientists working in the Garbh-Ini programme, an interdisciplinary group for advanced research on birth outcomes, have identified 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), or genetic markers, that have been found to be associated with preterm — or premature — birth.
Details:
- For the study, the Garbh-Ini team undertook a “genome-wide association study (GWAS)’’ on spontaneous preterm birth on 6,211 women from Haryana.
- Five of these SNPs have been found to “confer increased risk of early preterm birth (birth before 33 weeks)’’ and can predict premature births.
- The study found that four SNPs found in the cohort were “significantly associated trans-ethnic SNPs”, which showed association both in Indian women as well as in the women belonging to the European ancestral population.
- One of the SNP markers, rs35760881, and three more markers, when compared with data on European women, was found to be also associated with risk of preterm delivery.
- These SNPs are known to regulate important biological processes such as inflammation, apoptosis, cervical ripening, telomere maintenance, selenocysteine biosynthesis, myometrial contraction, and innate immunity,
- The study also found that spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), the major subtype of preterm birth (PTB), occurs “either due to spontaneous early onset of labour or due to preterm prelabour rupture of membranes”.
Significance of the study:
- Preterm birth is the largest cause of neonatal deaths and complications globally.
- Preterm births are defined as births before 37 completed weeks of gestation.
- Of all babies born annually in India, about 13% are born preterm, accounting for 23.4% of preterm births globally.
- When these babies become adults, they also become at higher risk of diseases such as Type-2 diabetes, hypertension and cancer.
- When we can predict, through these genetic markers, which women are likely to have preterm births, then these mothers can be monitored closely and triaged.
Garbh-Ini initiative:
- Garbh-Iniis an initiative under the Department of Biotechnology (Ministry of Sci & Tech) as a collaborative interdisciplinary programme, led by DBT-Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), NCR Biotech cluster, Faridabad, in collaboration with DBT-NIBMG, Kalyani, DBT-Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Gurugram Civil Hospital and other organisations.
- Objective: To identify clinical, epidemiologic, genomic, epigenomic, proteomic, and microbial correlates; discover molecular-risk markers by using an integrative -omics approach; and generate a risk-prediction algorithm for preterm birth.
3. India underestimating heatwave impact
Section: Geography
Section: Climatology
Context: Climate experts and policymakers should re-evaluate the metrics for assessing the country’s climate vulnerability as heatwaves in India and the Indian subcontinent become recurrent and long-lasting.
More on the News:
- India has been underestimating the impact of heatwaves on its development. More than 90 per cent of the country is at risk of suffering losses in livelihood capacity, food grains yields, vector-borne disease spread and urban sustainability.
- The government’s estimate is from the National Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI), developed by the Department of Science and Technology.
- CVI is a composite index that uses various indicators to evaluate climate impact on India’s socio-economic features and livelihood, biophysical, institutional and infrastructural characteristics.
- CVI is a robust metric. But it underestimates the vulnerability from heatwaves as it does not include any physical risk factors from extreme heat, according to a new study by the University of Cambridge.
- Climate experts and policymakers should re-evaluate the metrics for assessing the country’s climate vulnerability as heatwaves in India and the Indian subcontinent become recurrent and long-lasting, they added.
Heat Waves:
- A heat wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western and South Central parts of India.
- It is a condition of air temperature which becomes fatal to the human bodywhen exposed.
- The IMD declares a heatwave when the maximum temperature crosses a certain threshold — 40°C in the plains, 37°C along the coast, and 30°C in hilly regions.
- Alternatively, a heatwave is declared if the maximum temperature rises by between 5°C and 6.4°C above normal.
- A severe heatwaveis declared when the maximum temperature rises more than 6.4°C above normal.
- A third condition for a heatwave arises when an area records a maximum temperature of more than 45°C and up to 47°C on any given day.
4. KFRI on a clear-the-air campaign for bats
Subject: Environment
Section: Species in new
Context: The institute is on a mission to dispel myths associated with bats and create awareness of their diversity, ecosystem functions, threats faced by the flying mammals.
More on the News:
- Bats have been cloaked in superstition since ancient times. Their nocturnal nature and spooky appearance place them in horror stories.
- KFRI Director launched a social media campaign ‘Bat for Bats’ at the institute recently as part of International Bat Appreciation Day. KFRI plans to conduct awareness programmes about bats in schools, colleges, and for the public
- KFRI, says the public is largely unaware of the economic and environmental benefits that bats provide to humans.
- At least eight bats in Odisha’s Jajpur district died as a heatwave swept across the state, compelling forest officials to spray water to maintain temperatures and hydrate the remaining bats to help them survive.
- Scientists and experts fear that the increase in temperatures and frequency of heat waves due to climate change may result in a mass population collapse.
- A large number of bats dying from heatwaves may also lead to ecological imbalances and increased spread of zoonotic diseases.
Bats:
- Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight.
- They belong to the order Chiroptera, which means “hand-wing” in Greek.
- There are over 1,400 species of bats, comprising around 20% of all mammal species.
- Bats are found worldwide, except in the polar regions and some isolated islands.
Ecological Significance:
- Seed dispersal– The diet of fruit-eating bats consists largely of flowers and fruits such as mangoes, bananas, guavas, custard apples, figs, tamarind and many species of forest trees.
- Pollination– Studies have found that bats play a vital role in pollination, mainly of large-flowered plants, and in crop protection.
- Production boost– Some large insectivorous bats are also reported to feed on small rodents.
- Soil fertility– Bat droppings provide organic input to soil and facilitate nutrient transfer, contributing to soil fertility and agricultural productivity.
- Health benefits– contribute to human health by reducing populations of mosquitoes and other insect vectors that spread malaria, dengue, chikungunya and other diseases.
Threats
- Anthropogenic factors such as habitat loss, poaching, environmental pollution, climate change, and biological invasions have caused the decline of bat population worldwide.
- Due to their low reproductive rate, gregarious lifestyle, and high metabolic rate, most bat species cannot withstand anthropogenic pressures.
5. Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE)
Subject: Economy
Section: Msc
Context:
- Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE), an initiative of the Central Government to accelerate the process for voluntary winding up of companies, will go live from May 1.
More about C-PACE:
- C-PACE or Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit is a newly established body that aims to process and dispose of applications for the removal of company names from the records under the Companies Act, 2013.
- C-PACE will be located at the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) in Manesar, Haryana, as a one-stop solution for companies looking to close their business and remove their names from the Register of Companies.
- The primary purpose of C-PACE is to facilitate the process of closing businesses and removing company names from the Register of Companies from the currently required 2 years to less than 6 months.
- Companies looking to file applications for the removal of names from the Register of Companies under Section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013, can benefit from C-PACE.
- The Registrar of C-PACE has now been designated as the Registrar of Companies (RoCs) for the purpose of exercising functional jurisdiction of processing and disposal of applications for voluntary winding up of companies.
- The Registrar of C-PACE will have territorial jurisdiction all over India to consider processing and disposal of applications for removal of names of companies from the Register of Companies in case of voluntary winding up.
- MCA has also specified the format of three new forms (STK-2, STK-6 and STK-7) related to voluntary winding up of companies.
6. Delay in 2021 Census by at least 3 years
Subject: Polity
Section: Msc
Context:
- The country’s Census enumeration that was scheduled to take place in 2021 has been pushed to 2024-25 until further orders.
More about Census 2021
- It will be the 15th Indian Census.
- It will be conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration.
- It will also provide a facility to the public for self-enumeration.
- For the first time, the Census 2021 will use the Mobile App for data collection.
- Apart from allowing the provision of online self-enumeration, home visit by the enumerators for collecting census data will continue as in the past.
More facts about Census 2021:
- The Census is the enumeration of the population of the country and it is being conducted at an interval of 10 years.
- It was first started under British Viceroy Lord Mayo in 1872.
- The first synchronous census in India was held in 1881.
- The Census Act of 1948 ensures confidentiality for census data.The information recorded for the population census is so private that even the legal system cannot access it.
- The responsibility of conducting the decennial Census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
- In the Census, data is collected on demographic and various socio-economic parameters like education, SC/ST, religion, language, marriage, fertility, disability, occupation and migration of the individuals.
2011 marks the first time biometric information was collected.
Subject: Environment
Section: Climate change
Context: Offsets have come under fire as a way for companies to compensate for carbon emissions through eco projects elsewhere.
How does offsetting work?
- Buying offsets is a way to “compensate” for environmental damage. Companies make a financial contribution to projects that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and in exchange can keep polluting themselves.
- Examples of projects include planting trees and rewetting peatlands — which store huge amounts of carbon in their soil.
- In recent years, the carbon offset industry has boomed. It is worth $2 billion (€1.87 billion) annually and is expected to grow five times that size by the end of the decade.
- After the concept’s invention in 1987, some international treaties such as the Kyoto protocol have let industrialized countries use carbon credits, each of which is worth one ton of carbon, to keep within emissions limits. That market –— where carbon credits are traded to meet government regulations — is much bigger, about $261 billion a year.
Offsetting in practice
- Offset projects can be broadly split into two categories: removals and avoidances.
- Removal describes actions which actively take carbon out of the air and store it permanently, such as by planting trees or direct air capture — which is not a technology available at scale. Currently carbon dioxide removal represents just a small percentage of the carbon credits in circulation.
- Avoidance offsets are from projects that stop the release of greenhouse gases, such as protecting trees from being logged.
Problems with Carbon offsetting:
- Additionality: Additionality refers to the idea that carbon offset projects should only be considered legitimate if they result in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that would not have occurred in the absence of the project. However, it is difficult to determine whether a project is truly additional and whether the emissions reductions would have occurred anyway without the offset project.
- Permanence: Carbon offsetting projects such as reforestation, afforestation, or carbon sequestration can be reversed if the trees are cut down, wildfires occur, or soil carbon is released. This means that carbon offsetting is not a permanent solution and cannot guarantee long-term emissions reductions.
- Leakage: Leakage refers to the situation where emissions are shifted from one location to another as a result of a carbon offsetting project. For example, a forestry project may lead to deforestation in another area, or a renewable energy project may lead to higher emissions from other energy sources due to increased demand.
- Verification: There is a lack of standardized and transparent verification mechanisms for carbon offsetting projects. It is difficult to ensure that the projects are genuinely reducing emissions and that the credits generated are not being double-counted or sold more than once.
- Ethical concerns: There are concerns about the ethics of carbon offsetting, particularly when it comes to projects that involve land acquisition or that may have negative impacts on local communities or biodiversity.
8. India to have more people than China by mid-2023: UN
Subject : International Organizations
Section: Reports and Indices
Concept :
- India is probably the world’s most populous country already. The latest estimates from the United Nations (UN) say India’s population is expected to surpass that of mainland China by around 3 million people by the end of June 2023.
Key-highlights of the UN Report
- According to demographic data from the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA)-
- Grouping the population
- 25 percent of India’s population is estimated at below 14 years old
- 18 percent is estimated in the 10-19 year age group
- 26 percent in the 10-24 year bracket
- 68 percent in the 15-64 year age group
- 7 percent is estimated to be over 65 years old
- In contrast, 17% of China’s population is estimated to be below 14 years of age, and 14 percent is estimated to be above 65 years old.
- The UN report estimates India’s population will hit 1428.6 million my mid-2023, while China’s (excluding Hong Kong and Macao, Special Administrative Regions of China, and Taiwan Province of China) is estimated to reach 1425.7 million.
- Asia’s third-largest economy will soon house almost a fifth of humanity, more than the populations of Europe, Africa, or the Americas.
- Distant third: The United States is estimated to be a distant number three in the rankings, with nearly 340 million people.
- The report says eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.
What does the Indian government’s data show?
- Data from the Indian government, meanwhile, says India’s annual population growth has averaged 1.2 percent since 2011, compared with 1.7 percent in the 10 years previously.
United Nations Population Fund
- It is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly and works as a sexual and reproductive health agency.
- The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) establishes its mandate.
- It was established as a trust fund in 1967 and began operations in 1969.
- In 1987, it was officially renamed the United Nations Population Fund but the original abbreviation, ‘UNFPA’ for the United Nations Fund for Population Activities was retained.
- UNFPA works directly to tackle Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG3), education (SDG4) and gender equality (SDG5).
- UNFPA is not supported by the UN budget, instead, it is entirely supported by voluntary contributions of donor governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, foundations and individuals.
- The State of World Population report is UNFPA’s annual flagship publication.
- HQ :New York
Subject : Polity
Section: judiciary
Concept :
- The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the names of six additional judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for appointment as permanent judges.
- The additional judges are Justices Vikas Bahl, Vikas Suri, Sandeep Moudgil, Vinod Sharma (Bhardwaj), Pankaj Jain and Jasjit Singh Bedi.
- The collegium, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, said that since the current two-year term of one of the additional judges is due to expire on May 24, the recommendation may be processed expeditiously by the Centre.
Constitutional Provisions on Additional Judges:
- Additional Judges can be appointed by the President under clause (1) of Article 224 of the Constitution.
- The State Government should first obtain the sanction of the Central Government for the creation of such additional posts.
- After the post is sanctioned the procedure to be followed for making the appointment is same as for the appointment of a permanent Judge.
- However, a medical certificate will not be necessary from the person being appointed as an Additional Judge.
- When an Additional Judge is being considered for confirmation as an Additional Judge for a fresh term, the relevant documents must be sent by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned along with such recommendation.
- However, the Chief Justice of the High Court should not make a recommendation for appointment of an Additional Judge when a vacancy of a permanent Judge is available in that High Court.
Conditions for Appointment :
- If there is any temporary increase in the business of the High Court or by reason of arrears of work, and the
- If President feels that the number of the Judges of that Court should be for the time being increased, then he may appoint duly qualified persons to be additional Judges of the Court.
- The period of such service must not exceed two years.
- No additional Judge of a High Court shall hold office after attaining the age of sixty-two years.
10. Kyiv receives Patriot Missiles from US
Subject: International Relations
Section: Msc
Concept :
- American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, the country’s defense minister said Wednesday, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against the Russian airstrikes that have devastated cities and civilian infrastructure.
About Patriot system:
- The Patriot is one of the most sought-after defence systems and has been deployed in 18 countries, including the U.S.
- The Patriot is a surface-to-air guided missile system that was first deployed in the 1980s.
- History:
- Initially developed as a system to intercept high-flying aircraft by Raytheon Technologies, the Patriot was modified in the 1980s to focus on other threats such as ballistic missiles.
- The programme’s roots can be traced back to the 1960s when the Pentagon was looking to replace the HAWK and Nike-Hercules air defence systems.
- Currently, Patriot batteries can defend against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, jets and “other threats”, but it doesn’t offer protection against low-flying small drones.
- A mobile Patriot system includes a control centre, a radar station to detect threats, missile launchers to take out those threats and other support vehicles.
- It can launch different types of interceptor missiles: The older PAC-1 and PAC-2 interceptors used a blast-fragmentation warhead, while the newer PAC-3 missile has a more advanced hit-to-kill technology.
- The Patriot system’s radar has a range of over 150 km and it can track over 50 potential targets at the same time.