Daily Prelims Notes 22 February 2025

Daily Prelims Notes

22 February 2025

1. Microsoft Unveils Majorana 1: The First Quantum Processor with Topological Qubits

Sub: Sci

Sec: Awareness in IT and Computer

Why in News

• Microsoft has introduced Majorana 1, the world’s first Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) powered by topological qubits. This breakthrough, along with new research on topological superconductivity, brings us closer to scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computing.

About Majorana 1:

• Majorana 1 is the world’s first QPU powered by a topological core, designed for scalability to a million qubits on a single chip.
• The processor aims to enhance quantum error correction and increase computational reliability.
• Microsoft’s success in harnessing topological qubits, which are smaller, faster, and digitally controlled.
• These qubits rely on a new class of materials called topoconductors, which enable topological superconductivity.
• Microsoft has laid out a roadmap progressing from single-qubit devices to large arrays capable of quantum error correction (QEC).
• The company is developing a fault-tolerant prototype (FTP) based on topological qubits under the DARPA US2QC program.
• Microsoft’s topoconductors integrate indium arsenide (a semiconductor) and aluminum (a superconductor) to create a new state of matter.
• When cooled to near absolute zero, these devices form topological superconducting nanowires that host Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs).
• MZMs act as stable quantum information carriers, making them resistant to environmental noise and improving qubit reliability.
• Refer: Quantum Computing

How Microsoft’s Quantum Measurement System Works:

• Traditional superconductors require paired electrons (Cooper pairs) to store quantum information.
• Microsoft’s Majorana-based qubits share an unpaired electron across two MZMs, preventing environmental disturbances.
• A quantum dot is used to measure parity (even or odd electron numbers) via microwave reflectometry.
• Initial measurements showed an error probability of 1%, with clear paths for further improvement.
• Microsoft’s system leverages digital measurements instead of traditional analog control, simplifying error correction.
• The roadmap includes scaling from single-qubit tetron devices to 4×2 tetron arrays, implementing quantum entanglement and error detection.
• This scale of computing could revolutionize fields such as:
  • Developing self-healing materials.
  • Enhancing sustainable farming techniques.
  • Accelerating safer chemical discovery.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA):

• Founded in 1958 in response to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik 1, aiming to prevent technological surprises against the U.S.
• Serves as the central research and development organization for the U.S. Department of defence.
• Contributed to the development of the internet (ARPANET), stealth technology, and autonomous vehicles.
• DARPA selected Microsoft for the final phase of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), validating its quantum roadmap.
• The program involves collaborations with NASA Ames Research Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
• Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI): To rigorously assess whether any quantum computing approach can achieve utility-scale operation—where computational value exceeds cost—by 2033.
• Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) Program: To evaluate whether unconventional approaches can rapidly achieve utility-scale quantum computing, surpassing traditional timelines.
  Focus on building a fault-tolerant quantum computer prototype, with goals aligned with DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI).

Topological Qubits:

• Qubits that store and process quantum information using topological states of matter, offering inherent protection against certain types of errors.
• Utilize quasiparticles known as Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs) located at the ends of topological superconducting nanowires.
• Quantum information is encoded in the parity (even or odd number of electrons) of these MZMs, making it less susceptible to local disturbances.

Topoconductors:

• A novel class of materials engineered to exhibit topological superconductivity, essential for creating and manipulating MZMs.
• When cooled to near absolute zero and subjected to specific magnetic fields, these materials form topological superconducting nanowires.

Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs):

• Quasiparticles that are their own antiparticles, predicted by Italian physicist Ettore Majorana in 1937.
• Appear at topological defects such as the ends of superconducting nanowires.
• Exhibit non-abelian exchange statistics, meaning that exchanging two MZMs alters the system’s quantum state in a way that depends on the sequence of exchanges.

2. India-Pakistan Armies Hold Flag Meeting Amid Rising Tensions Along LoC

Sub: Geo

Sec: Indian mapping

Why in News

• Amid increasing skirmishes along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian and Pakistani armies conducted a flag meeting in Poonch district to de-escalate tensions. The meeting was held at the Chakkan-Da-Bagh crossing point in the Pir Panjal valley to discuss recent ceasefire violations and measures to restore peace.

Recent Incidents Along the LoC: In the last 24 hours, multiple incidents of explosions and cross-border firing were reported in Poonch district.

Objective: The primary goal of the meeting was to reinforce adherence to the 2003 and 2020 ceasefire agreements between the two nations.

Chakkan Da Bagh in Poonch

• It is situated approximately 8 kilometres south of Poonch town in Jammu and Kashmir.
• This is a significant route for cross-LoC trade and travel between India and Pakistan. Loaded trucks from both sides arrive here from Monday to Friday each week for unloading and onward transportation.
• The area is known for its natural beauty and is referred to as “Mini Kashmir.”

Pir Panjal Valley:

• The Pir Panjal Range is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast to west-northwest across the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
• The range rises sharply to an average elevation of more than 13,000 feet (4,000 meters), separating the Jammu Hills to the south from the Valley of Kashmir.
• Pir Panjal Pass: connects Kashmir valley to Rajouri and Poonch districts.
• Banihal Pass: connects Jammu and Srinagar.
• Mughal Road: This historic road links Rajouri and Poonch with the Kashmir Valley via the Pir Panjal Pass, also known as Peer Ki Gali.
• The range is home to the hill resort of Gulmarg.

3. Strengthening Air Defence: Indian Army’s Response to Drone Threats

Sub: Sci

Sec: Defence

Why in News

• The Army is set to induct new fragmentation ammunition for its existing air defence guns and finalize a contract for the indigenously developed Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) system.

Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM):

• It is an indigenously developed air defence system by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), designed to protect moving armoured formations from aerial threats.
• Mounted on highly mobile platforms, The system boasts a fully automated command and control setup, integrating surveillance and tracking functionalities to facilitate quick reaction times.
• Equipped with two radars—the Active Array Battery Surveillance Radar and the Active Array Battery Multifunction Radar—both offering 360-degree coverage with “search on the move” and “track on the move” capabilities.
• The QRSAM utilizes missiles with a range of approximately 30 km, featuring mid-course inertial navigation and terminal active radar homing.
• As of February 2025, the Indian Army is finalizing a contract for the QRSAM system, aiming to enhance its air defence capabilities against modern aerial threats.

Modernization of Army Air Defence (AAD):

• A tender has been floated for 30mm fragmentation ammunition for legacy air defence guns such as the L-70 and Zu-23.
• A high-altitude version of the Akash missile system is scheduled for trial testing within 45 days.
• L-70 Anti-Aircraft Gun: The Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/70 is a multi-purpose autocannon developed by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors.
• ZU-23 Anti-Aircraft Gun: The ZU-23-2, commonly known as ZU-23, is a Soviet-designed, towed, twin-barreled 23×152mm anti-aircraft autocannon.
• Akash Missile System: It is an indigenously developed medium-range, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.
  • Capable of targeting aircraft up to 45 km away.
  • Altitude Ceiling: Up to 18 km.
  • 60 kg payload, capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads.
  • Can simultaneously engage multiple targets in group or autonomous mode.
  • Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM): to counteract electronic jamming

4. As India and Qatar eye trade expansion, why LNG’s centrality in bilateral trade is in focus

Sub: IR

Sec: Places in news 

Context:

• India and Qatar have a longstanding trade relationship, primarily driven by India’s imports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
• Qatar is India’s largest supplier of LNG, which plays a key role in the bilateral trade.
• Both countries aim to double their bilateral trade to approximately $28 billion annually by 2030, with LNG expected to continue playing a significant role in this growth.

India’s LNG imports:

• India is the fourth-largest LNG importer globally.
• In 2024, India imported 9.82 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar, accounting for 8% of India’s total LNG imports by volume.
• The Indian government has set a target to increase the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15% by 2030, up from the current 6%.
• As a result, LNG imports are expected to more than double by 2030, reaching 65 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually, driven by both increased demand and limited growth in domestic natural gas production.
• Qatar’s LNG export capacity is also expected to grow significantly. By 2027, Qatar’s liquefaction capacity is set to nearly double to 142 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from 77 mtpa. This increase will position Qatar to meet India’s growing LNG demand and solidify its role as India’s largest LNG supplier.

Trade deficit and market diversification:

• Despite this heavy import reliance, India’s exports to Qatar during the same period were only $1.61 billion, creating a trade imbalance favouring Qatar.
• In addition to long-term contracts, such as the one between India’s Petronet LNG and Qatar, India is exploring new LNG deals globally, including with the US, which is expected to be a competitor to Qatar in supplying LNG to India.

5. How India improved the quality of its govt expenditure — and why that matters

Sub: Eco

Sec: Fiscal Policy 

Context:

• Currently, the quality of public expenditure in India, both at the Centre and state levels, is at its highest point since the economic reforms of 1991, according to an RBI Analysis.

Fiscal Discipline in India: The FRBM Act

• India introduced the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act in 2003 to promote fiscal discipline. The Act set two main goals:

1. Fiscal Deficit Limit: The government’s fiscal deficit, which measures borrowing to cover the gap between income and expenditure, should not exceed 3% of GDP.
2. Revenue Deficit: The government aimed to achieve a revenue deficit of zero, meaning that current expenditures should not exceed its everyday income. Borrowing should only be for capital expenditure, not for recurrent expenses like salaries.

• India has moved towards focusing on overall debt-to-GDP ratio rather than just fiscal deficits to maintain fiscal discipline.

Importance of Capital Expenditure (Capex):

• Capital expenditure refers to spending on assets that build the economy’s productive capacity, like infrastructure. This is considered more beneficial than revenue expenditure (e.g., salaries), as it stimulates economic growth.
• There has been a growing realization that India needs more investment in physical infrastructure to achieve long-term growth.

Quality of Public Expenditure in India:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) developed the Quality of Public Expenditure (QPE) Index to evaluate how effectively the government spends its money, using five key variables:

1. Capital Outlay to GDP Ratio: The ratio of money spent on infrastructure projects compared to GDP. A higher ratio indicates better expenditure quality.
2. Revenue Expenditure to Capital Outlay Ratio: This ratio compares daily expenditures to capital expenditures; a lower ratio indicates better quality public spending.
3. Development Expenditure to GDP Ratio: This measures spending on growth-promoting activities like education, healthcare, infrastructure, and research & development.
4. Development Expenditure as a Percentage of Total Government Expenditure: A higher percentage indicates a focus on long-term growth, suggesting better expenditure quality.
5. Interest Payments to Total Government Expenditure Ratio: A lower ratio shows less burden from past debt and reflects better fiscal management.

RBI’s Analysis of Public Expenditure Quality:

• Phase 1 (1991-2000): A slight improvement in the Centre’s public expenditure quality, but a decline in states’ expenditure quality due to fiscal constraints.
• Phase 2 (2001-2005): The indices for both the Centre and states declined sharply due to rising interest payments and increasing revenue expenditure.
• Phase 3 (2006-2008): The FRBM Act helped improve fiscal discipline, and states benefited from higher tax devolution, resulting in a positive trend.
• Phase 4 (2008-2013): The global financial crisis led to stimulus spending, pushing up the index in the short term but eventually eroding expenditure quality due to higher deficits.
• Phase 5 (2014-2019): Improvement in states’ public expenditure quality due to higher development spending, but the Centre’s expenditure quality worsened, especially after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
• Phase 6 (2020-Present): The Covid-19 pandemic led to more government spending on fiscal stimulus. However, the emphasis on capital expenditure has helped improve public expenditure quality.

6. Centre plans to auction more critical mineral mines

Sub: Geo

Sec: Eco geo

Context

• The Indian government plans to auction more critical mineral mines by 2031.
• This follows the Cabinet’s approval of the ₹16,300-crore National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in January 2025.
• Union Minister of State for Mines and Minerals, Satish Chandra Dubey, emphasized the role of public-private partnerships in mineral exploration and extraction.

Current Auction and Future Plans

• The government has already auctioned 24 critical mineral blocks.
• Aim to auction as many critical mineral blocks as possible by 2031.
• NCMM also includes an investment of ₹18,000 crore by public sector units.

Secondary Sources of Critical Minerals

• India’s natural resource scarcity necessitates extraction of valuable minerals from mine waste and tailings.
• Tailings contain copper, manganese, rare-earth elements, and titanium, serving as a secondary source.
• This approach can enhance supply and mitigate risks from increasing demand.

India’s Critical Mineral Resources

• Lithium: 12.3 million tonnes.
• Nickel: 189-194 million tonnes.
• Cobalt: 45 million tonnes.
• Graphite: 211-244 million tonnes.
• Rare-earth elements: 230 million tonnes.
• Except for graphite, India relies heavily on imports for meeting future demand in electric vehicles and consumer electronics.

Challenges in Critical Mineral Extraction

• Poor availability of quality reserves of cobalt, niobium, germanium, and rhenium.
• Weak investor interest due to lack of good exploration data—24 out of 49 blocks remain unauctioned.
• Technological limitations in economically extracting deep-seated critical minerals.
• Lithium extraction challenge: India has 5.9 million tonnes of lithium resources in Jammu and Kashmir but lacks the technology to extract it.
• Land acquisition issues due to vein deposits extending beyond lease boundaries.
• Resettlement and rehabilitation challenges.
• Long development timelines make the process complex.

7. War of Words Over NEP’s Language Provision

Sub: Schemes

Sec: Education

Context

• A political dispute has emerged between Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin over the language provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• The debate primarily revolves around the alleged imposition of Hindi under the three-language formula of NEP.

Tamil Nadu’s Stand

• CM M.K. Stalin accused the Centre of attempting to impose Hindi under the guise of NEP’s language policy.
• He reaffirmed his commitment to opposing any move against Tamil and Tamil Nadu’s interests.
• He accused the Union government of promoting Hindi in a multilingual country for political purposes.
• He warned the Centre against provoking Tamil sentiments.
• He highlighted that despite Tamil Nadu’s progress, the Union government was not allocating funds that rightfully belonged to the State.

Union Government’s Stand

• Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan refuted claims of Hindi imposition, stating that NEP 2020 is flexible and does not advocate any specific language imposition.
• He urged Tamil Nadu to look beyond politics and focus on student empowerment.
• He argued that Tamil Nadu’s resistance to NEP deprived students, teachers, and institutions of opportunities and resources.
• He stated that many non-BJP States had implemented NEP despite political differences.
• He highlighted that NEP allows States to customize its implementation as per their unique needs.
• He pointed out various initiatives by the Modi government to promote Tamil, including Kashi Tamil Sangamam and Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam.
• He emphasized that NEP 2020 aims to broaden educational opportunities rather than restrict them.
• Centrally-supported programmes such as Samagra Shiksha are aligned with the NEP 2020. Also, PM SHRI schools have been conceptualised to be NEP exemplar schools

Key Issues in the Debate

• Three-Language Formula: Tamil Nadu has historically opposed the inclusion of Hindi in education, preferring a two-language formula (Tamil and English).
• Federalism: The dispute highlights tensions between the Centre and States over policy implementation.
• Political Narrative: The Centre accuses Tamil Nadu of politicizing NEP, while the State argues that the Union government is using NEP for political gains.
• Resource Allocation: Tamil Nadu claims the Centre is withholding funds due to its opposition to NEP.

8. Record Olive Ridley Turtle Nesting at Odisha Beach

Sub: Env

Sec: Species in news

Context

• A record 6.5 lakh Olive Ridley turtles have arrived at Rushikulya beach, Odisha, for mass nesting after a gap of two years.
• This event has thrilled wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists.

Mass Congregation at Rushikulya Beach

• The last major congregation at Rushikulya was recorded in 2022-23.
• During 2023-24 and 2024-25, only sporadic nestings were noticed along the beach.
• Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Prem Kumar Jha, confirmed that this is the highest number of turtles arriving at Rushikulya beach.

Expected Nesting at Gahirmatha

• The Gahirmatha mass nesting site along Odisha’s Kendrapara coast generally witnesses mass nesting about a week after Rushikulya.
• Authorities expect a similar congregation at Gahirmatha this year.

Role of Indian Coast Guard

• The Indian Coast Guard is monitoring protected areas to prevent human interference.
• Patrolling efforts focus on preventing seaward poaching and leisure activities.

Operation Olivia

• The Coast Guard, Fisheries, and Forest Departments are conducting ‘Operation Olivia’ from November 1 to May 31 to protect Olive Ridley turtles.
• The operation has yielded positive results in ensuring the safety of the turtles during nesting.

Significance

• Mass nesting is a crucial ecological event for the conservation of Olive Ridley turtles, a vulnerable species under IUCN Red List.
• Highlights the importance of conservation measures and coordinated efforts of different agencies in protecting marine biodiversity.

9. RBI Cautions Against Reckless Financialization

Sub : Eco

Sec: Monetary Policy

Why in News?

• RBI Deputy Governor has warned financial entities against the risks of reckless financialization, emphasizing the dangers of leveraged products and speculative investing.
• While technology aids financial inclusion, it also increases risks of over-leveraging and exposure, affecting both individual investors and the broader financial system.

10. RBI to Infuse Liquidity via $10 Billion USD-INR Swap Deal

Sub : Eco

Sec: External Policy

Why in News?

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a USD-INR Buy/Sell swap auction worth $10 billion for a tenor of three years on February 28, 2025.
• This move aims to infuse long-term Rupee liquidity (to avoid banking system liquidity deficit) and stabilize the currency by mitigating volatility caused by foreign fund outflows.