Daily Prelims Notes 23 June 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

23 June 2023

Table Of Contents

1. A new study reveals critical gaps in stork research; calls for scrutiny of the IUCN Red List data
2. Face authentication now in PM-Kisan mobile app, a first for Govt schemes
3. Union Environment Ministry grants final approval for Kalaignar pen monument in the Bay of Bengal
4. COP28 UAE Presidency | Why are Western lawmakers opposing Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber’s appointment?
5. Shipwrecks can teach us a lot. But the submersible incident is a warning
6. See maps of where the Titanic sank and how deep the wreckage is amid the search for missing sub
7. Adverse climate events can increase inflation
8. Why inflation and WPI are down but not all prices
9. TRAI floats consultation paper on Regulatory Sandbox
10. CERC to initiate appointment of market coupler
11. Eviden bags $100 mn supercomputer order from NCMRWF
12. PM gifts U.S. First lady Jill lab-grown diamond
13. Tenders for project on Mahadayi river in Karnataka may not fiend any takers
14. GE Aerospace, HAL sign MoU for manufacture of jet engines in India
15. L&T and DRDO sign pact for submarine propulsion system
16. Medicines Patent Pool deal to make cancer drug cheaper
17. Amid search for Titan, lessons for proposed Indian submersible dive
18. Manipur invokes RBI’s riot provisions to aid borrowers
19. Trade unions boycott G­20 meet over BMS appointment as chair
20. ED cannot seek anybody’s interrogation in custody

1. A new study reveals critical gaps in stork research; calls for scrutiny of the IUCN Red List data

Subject : Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context:

• A new study examining research on storks worldwide uncovered biases in species coverage and geographical focus, with more focus on Europe and North America as compared to Asia and Africa.

Details:

• Study authors find several gaps in the IUCN Red List classification process, including a lack of knowledge on habitat changes and anthropogenic pressures, inaccurate population counts and so on.
• While all 20 stork species are included in the IUCN Red List, an analysis of studies published between 1950 and 2022 revealed a concentration of research on only three.
• Research in Asia shows that storks are not limited to protected areas and are increasingly utilising farmlands and semi-urban areas. However, colonial presumptions about ideal bird habitats hinder research in anthropogenic landscapes.

Geographical and species unevenness:

• Agricultural and unprotected landscapes are largely ignored by researchers in Africa, as there is a preference for conducting research in national parks, where abundant wildlife and picturesque environments are found.
• The majority of the stork population exists outside the protected areas, so there is limited knowledge about this significant portion of the country’s stork population.
• The IUCN generally relies on robust processes, population metrics, regional variations and habitat relationships to classify species. However, in the case of storks, the rules and processes defining the IUCN’s approach to classifying species’ status are not being followed.

IUCN Red List for birds:

• The IUCN Red List for birds is compiled and managed by BirdLife International, which analyses data from published reports to categorise more than 10,000 species of land birds, migratory birds, seabirds and waterbirds into critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN), vulnerable (VU), near threatened (NT), least concern (LC), and data deficient (DD).
• The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is BirdLife International’s partner organisation for data on Indian birds.
• The Red List is updated annually after high-quality population assessments and population trend data is compiled and analysed by IUCN Red List to determine the appropriate categorisation for each species.

Why IUCN Red List data needs to be strengthened:

• IUCN Red List is a crucial metric that guides conservationists, governments, as well as donor organisations.
• It would help in finding some questions like:
  • Why do agricultural fields in India provide more favourable conditions for storks compared to those in the U.S. or U.K.?
• This could help allocate funds to species that actually need the aid.
• Better management of the population of these birds.

About Stork:

• Scientific Name: Leptoptilosdubius
• Genus:
  • The greater adjutant is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae.
  • There are about 20 species in the family.
  • They are long-necked large birds.
• Habitat:
  • Once found across South and Southeast Asia, the Greater Adjutant is one of the most threatened stork species in the world.
  • There are only three known breeding grounds – one in Cambodia and two in India (Assam and Bihar).
• Threat:
  • The widespread destruction and degradation of the wetlands that this scavenger bird needs to forage (i.e. search for food) and the loss of its nesting trees, led to a decline.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Endangered
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule IV
• Significance:
  • Religious Icon:
    • They are considered the mount of Vishnu, one of Hinduism’s prime deities.
    • Some worship the bird and call it “Garuda Maharaj” (Lord Garuda) or “Guru Garuda” (Great Teacher Garuda).
  • Helpful for Farmers:
    • They help farmers by killing rats and other farm pests.

2. Face authentication now in PM-Kisan mobile app, a first for Govt schemes

Subject : Schemes

Context:

• In a first for any central welfare scheme, the government rolled out a face authentification feature in the PM-Kisan app, which will enable beneficiary farmers to complete their e-KYC process by just scanning their faces on mobile phones instead of using one-time passwords or fingerprints.

Details:

• The PM-Kisan scheme has become the first scheme of the government to do e-KYC through facial authentication mobile app.
• This app is very much useful for farmers who are aged and also their mobile number is not linked with their Aadhaar.
• Until now, e-KYC of the PM-Kisan beneficiaries used to be done through either biometrics at a designated centre or one-time passwords sent to mobile phone numbers linked with Aadhaar.
• The face authentication feature uses the iris data of a person having an Aadhaar number.
• The PM-Kisan scheme is also integrating with Bhashini to provide farmers with information in their native language.
• Bhashini is the government’s National Public Digital Platform for languages to develop services and products for citizens by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

About PM-Kisan scheme:

• Central Sector Scheme with 100% funding from central government.
• Became operational on 1 December 2018.
• The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi or PM-Kisan scheme gives beneficiaries financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments every four months.
• The amount is transferred to the bank accounts of eligible farmers’ families across the country through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
• Till now, more than 11 crore farmers have availed the scheme and an amount of Rs 2.42 lakh crore has been transferred to their accounts.

SCHEME EXCLUSION

• The following categories of beneficiaries of higher economic status shall not be elligible for benefits under the scheme.
  • All Institutional Landholders.
  • Farmer families which belong to one or more of the following categories:.
    • Former and present holders of constitutional posts
    • Former and present Ministers/ State Ministers and former/present Members of LokSabha/ RajyaSabha/ State Legislative Assemblies/ State Legislative Councils,former and present Mayors of Municipal Corporations, former and present Chairpersons of District Panchayats.
    • All serving or retired officers and employees of Central/ State Government Ministries /Offices/Departments and its field units Central or State PSEs and Attached offices /Autonomous Institutions under Government as well as regular employees of the Local Bodies
    • (Excluding Multi Tasking Staff /Class IV/Group D employees)
    • All superannuated/retired pensioners whose monthly pension is Rs.10,000/-or more
    • (Excluding Multi Tasking Staff / Class IV/Group D employees) of above category
    • All Persons who paid Income Tax in the last assessment year
    • Professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants, and Architects registered with Professional bodies and carry out profession by undertaking practices.

How will the beneficiaries be identified?

• The entire responsibility of identifying the eligible farmers’ families for benefit under the scheme is of the State/UT Governments.
• The prevailing land-ownership system/record of land in different States/Union Territories will be used to identify the intended beneficiaries for the transfer of scheme benefits.

3. Union Environment Ministry grants final approval for Kalaignar pen monument in the Bay of Bengal

Subject : Environment

Section: Environmental laws

Context:

• The Union Ministry of Environment has given Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to construct the MuthamizhArignar Dr. Kalaignar pen monument in Bay of Bengal, off the Marina beach in Chennai, with 15 conditions.

Details:

• The CRZ clearance was provided based on the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee (CRZ) and Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority.
• It has also noted that the Ministry may revoke or suspend the clearance if the implementation of the conditions were not found satisfactory.
• The environment statement would have to be submitted to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board every year and the compliance of conditions need to be uploaded on PWD website.

The structure:

• The Pen Memorial pays tribute to M. Karunanidhi.
  • The idea of a monument on water derives from the metaphorical catamaran to which Karunanidhi compared himself.
• The pen monument will be 30 meters high and it would be spread over 8,551 sq.m.
• This would include a pen pedestal, a lattice bridge above the beach and a land and pedestrian pathway above the sea.
• The 7-metre wide bridge would be 290-metre long over the land and 360-metre long over the sea.
• Chennai-based Hubert Enviro Care Systems was the infrastructure and environmental consultant for the project.
• The PWD would prepare a detailed project report for executing the project based on the Ministry’s approval.
• Conditions:
  • No objection certificate from INS Adyar that is situated 800 metres away from the project site before the construction;
  • Monitoring of erosion and accretion studies should be done;
  • Reports on crowd management and emergency evacuation plans executed must be provided to the regional environment office.

Features:

• The design of the monument is based on the Veena, a traditional Carnatic musical instrument that is handmade in Tamil Nadu with extreme precision.
• The Thumba is used to represent the pen pedestal, the neck portion of the long bridges, the music hole a pen statue, and the peg the tensile canopy seating on the bridge.
• The frets are used to represent the distance between the bridge’s columns, and the strings are used to represent the Meru or Kudira
• The design for the landscaped garden on the memorial pedestal is inspired by Sikku Kolam, a traditional drawing made by Tamil women in their homes, in which a geometric shape is created using dots and circles. Locally procured granite will be used for the memorial.

4. COP28 UAE Presidency | Why are Western lawmakers opposing Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber’s appointment?

Subject : Environment

Section: International conventions

Context:

• The UAE announced Mr. al-Jaber, the State oil company CEO, as its pick in January, a move that has faced backlash from Western lawmakers, leaders of some countries, as well as civil society groups.

Details:

• More than 130 lawmakers from the United States and the European Parliament last month wrote a letter to European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden asking them to urge the UAE to withdraw its appointment of Mr. al-Jaber as the COP28 President.
• They argued that the move could risk undermining the climate negotiations and asked the world leaders to help restore “public faith in the COP process severely jeopardised by having an oil company executive at the helm.”

Who is Sultan al-Jaber?

• He is the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) since 2016.
• He was appointed as UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology in 2020, a new department established that year.
• He has a chemical engineering and economics background, and was serving as a Minister of State in the UAE government since 2013.
• Also in 2020, he was for the second time appointed as the UAE’s special envoy for climate change, a role previously held by him from 2010 to 2016.
• He is also serving in a contrasting role, as the Chairman of Masdar, a renewable energy firm in Abu Dhabi, which he helped start in 2006.
• The Guardian reported late last month that Mr. al-Jaber’s team was being accused of attempting to “greenwash” his image.

Why has Mr. al-Jaber’s advocacy of carbon capture been criticised?

• Mr. al-Jaber insists on oil and gas continuing to play a role in the future, provided their emissions are somehow curbed.
• Climate campaigners and scientists have expressed caution that technologies proposed so far to capture fossil fuel emissions have not been tested at scale.
• While taking the immediate phaseout of fossil fuels off the table, Mr. al-Jaber has reiterated the need to double down on renewables.

Post of CoP president: Their role and responsibilities:

• The government of the host country holds the presidencyfor one year.
• It usually names one of its ministers as the president.
• The role of the CoP president is to facilitate and guide the negotiations.
• The President does not have any special powers but does play a key role in prioritising the agenda of discussions and helping forge a consensus on important issues.
• They are usually extremely active behind the scenes, brokering deals and compromises, mediating conflicts, and acting as crisis managers.
• However, the final decisions are always taken by consensus.
• Extended role of COP presidents:
  • For the past few years, COP presidents have engaged in pre-conference diplomacy, travelling all over the world to hold discussions with governments in order to understand their priorities and to get a sense of the kind of agreement that could be realistically achieved at the conference.
  • There have been several instances when a single country– and not one from among the most powerful- has stood up and disagreed with the rest of the world, and the conference had to accommodate its concerns.

5. Shipwrecks can teach us a lot. But the submersible incident is a warning

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

• The Titan, belonging to the private company OceanGate Expeditions, had taken the tourists to the wreck of the RMS Titanic in the waters of the North Atlantic.
• Contact with the Titan was lost one hour and 45 minutes into its dive on the afternoon of June 18, 2023, according to the US Coast Guard.

Wreck tourism in India:

• Wreck tourism in India mostly took place in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, off Visakhapatnam and Lakshadweep.
• India’s maritime history was 5,000 years-old and details on ancient or historical period shipwrecks were very inadequate.
• The recorded shipwreck history of India starts from the European period onwards.
• Since the initiation of shipwreck studies in Indian waters shipwrecks have been explored in (Sunchi Reef, St George’s Reef, Amee Shoals, SailRock, Grande Island) off Goa, (four in Minicoy Island and one in Suheli Par) off Lakshadweep Islands, and one each off Poompuhar and Konark in Tamil Nadu and Odisha waters respectively.
• There are plenty of references in the literature about shipwrecks. But their exact locations are not known.
• Most shipwrecks are discovered globally by fishers who usually come across items from a wreck in their nets.
• The other way can be if industrial organisations carry out a survey of the seafloor and may stumble across a wreck sometimes.
• Medieval shipwrecks may help in the understanding of history and the actual mechanics of trade.
• There is a very strong case for systematic archaeology along the entirety of India’s coast.

Limitations:

• Shipwreck tourism is very limited in India because India is a tropical country. Because of the monsoon and wind currents, such tourism usually happens only for 2-3 months.
• The cost is very high so only a few can afford it.
• Very limited research on shipwrecks.
• No dedicated organisation for shipwreck studies.

6. See maps of where the Titanic sank and how deep the wreckage is amid the search for missing sub

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Titanic’s planned path:

• The voyage started in 1912.
• It took off from Southampton, England, for New York City.
• It first made stops in Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, before heading across the Atlantic.
• It was supposed to return via Plymouth, England, and Cherbourg — but never made it to New York.
• On April 15, 1912 it hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. The massive ship broke into two parts and sank to the bottom of the ocean, killing about 1,500 people.

Where is the Titanic wreckage?

• The ship was near Newfoundland, Canada, when it sank. It was just about 400 miles off the coast.
• Most of the Titanic wreckage remains about 350 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, according to NOAA.
• The wreckage was first located in 1985 by marine explorer Robert Ballard.
• The Titanic is sitting on the ocean floor, about 12,500 feet below sea level. The two broken parts of the ship – the bow and the stern — are more than 2,600 feet apart and are surrounded by debris.

7. Adverse climate events can increase inflation

Subject : Economy

Section: Inflation and unemployment

Context: RBI Governor noted in the MPC minutes that adverse climate events can change inflation trajectory.

Key Points:

• The MPC panel has revised the CPI projection to 5.1 per cent and the real GDP growth target at 6.5 per cent.
• While inflation has reduced, RBI is committed to bringing it down to target of 4% and thus will stick to “withdrawal of accommodation” stance. (meaning likely to increase rate again in effort to reduce liquidity).
• The RBI has been mandated by the government to keep consumer price index-based inflation (CPI) at 4 per cent with a band of +/- 2 per cent.
• Some of the factors that may keep inflation elevated (putting upside risk on inflation) are:
  • Geo-political tensions: Tensions and conflicts between countries disrupt both supply of key resources and sea/land routes of transport. This has a great impact on prices of key essentials. For example, the Ukraine war led to reduced supply of wheat and edible oil in the international market. Further sanctions on oil producing nations like Russia or Iran often impact the price of crude oil.
  • Uncertainty on crude price trajectory: Fuel prices have a significant impact on inflation both directly through fuel used for transport and indirectly through increased costs of transportation of all the goods in the economy.
  • Volatile financial markets: Disruption in the financial markets also pose further upside risks to price. This is because any turbulence in the financial markets has a direct impact on the FDI and FPI flows which as part of the capital account are essential to balance the current account deficit. Any imbalance can damage the value of Rupee and thus increase inflation. (Note: a weaker rupee is good for exports but bad for importers and vice versa)
  • Adverse climate events: With around 50% of India’s net sown area being rain-fed, any deficiency caused by El-Nino occurrence that seems likely, will through a lower output result in higher food inflation (will impact kharif yields and rabi sowing). This is even more important as already international prices for key food items like rice and sugar are at elevated levels

8. Why inflation and WPI are down but not all prices

Subject : Economy

Section: Inflation and unemployment

Key Points:

• The headline inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has moderated to around 5% the WPI is – 3.48% for the month of May. But still the household items seem expensive to ordinary people. This can be explained by the base effect and by examining the inflation for sub-categories that form the index.
• A high base effect (the impact of the corresponding base, i.e. the prices for the previous year which were already high) explains to a degree the lower headline inflation. The effect of reduced prices is further magnified by the base effect.
• A high base also helped in a sharp decline in the WPI-linked inflation rate, which is expected to pass through to retail inflation with a lag.
  • Wholesale inflation at a seven-and-a-half-year low of (-)3.48% in May on the back of a high base effect, easing global commodity prices, food, fuel, primarily articles, and manufactured items. The wholesale inflation rate was in double digits during April-September 2022, and reached 16.63% in May 2022.
• Within the consumption basket, the inflation rate for some household items continues to be sticky. Further the core inflation — the non-food, non-fuel segment — will likely stay around 5% in the near term.
• The ‘food and beverages’ category, carries a weight of 45.86% in the Consumer Price Index (Combined) has a major impact of inflation experienced by the households.
  • Most of the reduction in inflation is “statistical” while the inflation continues to remain sticky (i.e. not reducing)
  • ‘Cereals and products’, which has a weight of 12.35% in the CPI, saw the inflation rate fall to 13.67% in April and 12.65% in May.
  • inflation rate for ‘Milk and products’ category (with a weight of 7.72% in the CPI) peaked to 9.65% had eased to 8.85% in April, but again rose to 8.91% in May.
  • Education, which has a weight of 3.46% in the index, has seen inflation above 5% since July 2022.
  • The inflation rate in the ‘personal care and effects’ category has been rising steadily, with the latest print for May at 9.2% from 9% in April.

9. TRAI floats consultation paper on Regulatory Sandbox

Subject : Economy

Section: Infrastructure

Key Points:

• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has come out with a consultation paper on encouraging innovative technologies through Regulatory Sandbox.
• What is a Sandbox ?
  • Sandbox is a tool that provides a safe virtual space for any new product, innovation or software to develop and test its technologies and programs, where while it is connected to the main network in getting and using realtime data, it cannot affect the larger network. It is used by financial institutions, software companies and regulatory agencies to test new innovations.
• Regulatory Sandbox refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled regulatory environment.
  • Regulatory bodies frameworks have been developed and used by many countries for telecom tech innovation.
  • The frameworks allow companies to test new products/concepts in a controlled environment, with various regulatory allowances and exemptions factored in.
  • Regulatory Sandbox by providing access to real-time network environment and other data will help the startup ecosystem in the telecom industry and allow them to test new applications before releasing them on the market.
• The aim of bringing the regulatory sandbox framework is to:
  • To promote creativity and adoption of cutting-edge technologies in the field of digital communications.
  • To allow testing the use of emerging technology like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, with regards to digital communication.

10. CERC to initiate appointment of market coupler

Subject : Economy

Section: Infrastructure

Context: Government has recently asked the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to initiate the process for appointment of a market coupler.

Key Points:

• Market coupler is a centralised body set up to discover a single price that will be applicable to all the different exchanges. The coupler uses the buy and sell bids data received from each of the exchanges and arrive at a common price using an algorithm.
• At present there are three power exchanges operating in India with each having their own market clearing prices (MCP) for each product, such as day-ahead market (DAM) or the real-time market (RTM)
• With the appointment of a coupler, one single market clearing price (MCP),will be applicable for each product.
• The objective of having a coupler is to set up a wholesale power market in India by the name of market based economic dispatch (MBED).
• At present the least cost dispatch assignment is done by the Grid Controller of India using a security constrained economic dispatch (SCED).

Problems with the idea:

• Problem of legacy PPAs:
  • PPA’s are owned by the Discoms, so how will the existing PPA’s be over-ridden
  • States with costlier PPA’s will get left out as those with cheaper PPA get preference in supply
  • how will the state generating companies be forced to participate in MBED, as power comes under the Concurrent List of the Schedule-VII of the constitution.
• Only Fixed cost prices:
  • The bidding system only covers the operational cost, so there won’t be any payment for fixed costs.
  • Power plants will not have enough revenue to set up new capacity.
  • The bidding system allows for volatility in pricing, this can be problematic during some times of the year when the demand for power is relatively low compared to supply.
• Limited Exchange coverage:
  • Currently only about 8% of the power generated in the country is traded in the exchanges (compared to > 20% in western countries).
  • It would be better to first increase the depth of our electricity exchanges before exposing the system to operational risks involved in moving over to a completely new regime.
• Role of Electricity exchanges:
  • With a market coupler the existing electricity exchanges will not have any purpose.
  • This will discourage any innovation that they may take in terms of newer products.
  • Hinder efforts of market development which is one of the roles of the exchanges, as each region may have specific needs and a single price may not be appropriate.

11. Eviden bags $100 mn supercomputer order from NCMRWF

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Awareness in IT and Computer

Context: Eviden has received a $100 million contract on behalf of the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences to build two new supercomputers dedicated to weather modelling and climate research for IITM (Indian Institute of Technology Madras) and NCMRWF (The National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting).

Details:

• These systems, based on Eviden’s BullSequana XH2000, will have a combined power capacity of up to 21.3 petaflops and will rely on Eviden’s patented Direct Liquid Cooling technology to cool the system using warm water.
• The NCMRWF supercomputer will have an 8.3-petaflop computing capacity for weather and climate modelling, to support advanced numerical weather research across India. This platform will bring together 2,100 CPU nodes with AMD EPYCTM 7643 processors, 18 GPU nodes using NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs, the NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand networking platform, and high-performance memory provided by Micron. NCMRWF supercomputer will also have 2PB all flash and 20PB disk-based DDN EXAScaler ES400NVX2 parallel filesystem storage.
• The supercomputer dedicated to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM, Pune) will provide 13 Petaflops of power for atmosphere and climate research. It will integrate 3,000 CPU nodes using AMD EPYCTM 7643 processors and 26 GPU nodes through NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs. The system will benefit from the NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand networking platform with In-Network Computing, 3PB all flash and 29PB disk-based DDN EXAScaler ES400NVX2 storage and Micron high-technology memory.

What are FLOPs?

• FLOPs is a metric used for measurement of computational performance -processing power and efficiency, especially in the field of high performance computing (HPC) and Artificial intelligence (AI).
• Floating point operations are a certain kind of mathematical calculation using real numbers and fractional parts. FLOPS are not only a metric for computational performance but Memory bandwidth ,latency are also crucial factors. Nevertheless, FLOPs act as a baseline to judge performance where calculations dominate.

Current Supercomputers of  India and world

• Currently ,the World’ fastest supercomputer in terms of Petaflops is Hewlett Packered’s Enterprise frontier ,or OCLF-5,with the peak performance of 1685.65 petaflops.
• In India NCMRWF(National centre for medium range weather forecasting) houses ‘Mihir’, a 2.8 petaflops supercomputer and ‘Pratyush’ 4.0 petaflops supercomputer at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology(IITM) at Pune. Out of 18 new supercomputers 10 will be installed at NCMRWF at Noida and 8 at IITM ,Pune.

About National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)

• The four major pillars of the NSM, namely, Infrastructure, Applications, R&D, HRD, have been functioning efficiently to realize the goal of developing indigenous supercomputing eco system of the nation.
• Some of the large-scale applications which are being developed under NSM include the following,

1. Climate Modelling
2. Weather Prediction
3. Aerospace Engineering including CFD, CSM, CEM
4. Computational Biology
5. Molecular Dynamics
6. Atomic Energy Simulations
7. National Security/ Defence Applications
8. Seismic Analysis
9. Disaster Simulations and Management
10. Computational Chemistry
11. Computational Material Science and Nano-materials
12. Discoveries beyond Earth (Astrophysics)
13. Large Complex Systems Simulations and Cyber Physical Systems
14. Big Data Analytics
15. Finance

• Information repositories/ Government Information Systems Being steered jointly by: Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeiTY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST)
• Being implemented by: Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

12. PM gifts U.S. First lady Jill lab-grown diamond

Subject : Science and Technology

Context: Narendra Modi presented First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) Jill Biden with a 7.5 carat lab-grown green diamond nan exquisite papier mâché box from Kashmir known as kar-e-kalamdani,

Lab-Grown Diamonds

• Lab-grown diamonds (LGD) are diamonds that are produced in laboratories, using specific technology which mimics the geological processes that grow natural diamonds.

About lab-grown diamonds

• Lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) are diamonds that are produced using specific technology which mimics the geological processes that grow natural diamonds.

Properties of LGDs

• Laboratory-grown diamonds have essentially the same chemical, optical and physical properties and crystal structure as natural diamonds.
• Like natural diamonds, they are made of tightly-bonded carbon atoms.
• They respond to light in the same way and are just as hard as natural diamonds.
• The main differences between laboratory-grown and natural diamonds lie in their origin.
• Since they are created in controlled environments, many of their properties can be enhanced for various purposes.

Difference between simulants and LGDs:

• LGDs are not the same as diamond simulants as LGDs are chemically, physically and optically diamond and thus are difficult to identify as lab-grown.
• Simulants such as Moissanite, Cubic Zirconia (CZ), White Sapphire, YAG, etc. look like a diamond but they lack the sparkle and durability of a diamond and are thus easily identifiable.
• Differentiating between an LGD and an Earth Mined Diamond is hard, with advanced equipment required for the purpose.

Production Process of LGDs:

• LGDs are mostly manufactured through two processes – high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) method or Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) method.
• High pressure, high temperature (HPHT) method: HPHT method requires extremely heavy presses that can produce up to 730,000 psi of pressure under extremely high temperatures (at least 1500 celsius).
• Usually graphite is used as the “diamond seed” and when subjected to these extreme conditions, the relatively inexpensive form of carbon turns into one of the most expensive carbon forms.
• Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)method: A thin slice of diamond seed is placed in a sealed chamber and heated to around 800 degrees celsius, and then the chamber is filled with other carbon rich gases such as methane.
• The gases are ionised into plasma using microwaves, lasers, and other techniques. The ionisation breaks down the gases and allows the carbon to merge with the diamond seed, growing the diamond up layer by layer.
• Both HPHT and CVD methods of growing diamonds artificially begin with a seed — a slice of another diamond.
• Lab-grown diamonds are considered more socially and environmentally responsible, while being nearly identical to natural diamonds.
• It is also eco-friendly, as eco-diversified resources like solar and wind power were used in its making.
• Since renewable or clean energy sources can be used in all of these methods, LGDs are more eco- friendly than traditionally mined diamonds.
• The productive of LGD is not socially explorative which gives traditional diamond obtained via mining as “Blood Diamond”

Applications:

• LGDs have basic properties similar to natural diamonds, including their optical dispersion, which provide them the signature diamond sheen. However, since they are created in controlled environments, many of their properties can be enhanced for various purposes.
• LGDs are most often used for industrial purposes, in machines and tools. Their hardness and extra strength make them ideal for use as cutters.
• Pure synthetic diamonds have high thermal conductivity, but negligible electrical conductivity. This combination is invaluable for electronics where such diamonds can be used as a heat spreader for high-power laser diodes, laser arrays and high-power transistors

Advantages:

• There is a growth in buying behaviours on justifiable and realistic terms among the new-age population.
• While natural diamonds are only affordable to upper strata-rich populations, lab-grown diamonds can be bought by mid-sized to income-based families.

Advantage for India:

• India’s growing consumer pool of sustainable diamonds has put it to a competitor’s advantage.
• It will soon be pioneering a host of developments, seconding India as a lab-grown market hotspot.
• LGD’s business has the capacity to touch the mark of Rs 40,000 crore in the next five years.
• It has challenged the market hegemony of natural diamonds and completely taken over consumer luxury tastes.

Challenges:

• One of the few challenges that the lab-grown diamond industry faces is a travesty of people’s judgement.

Lab-grown diamonds are often considered inferior and debased to natural diamonds, which is an inimical misrepresentation

13. Tenders for project on Mahadayi river in Karnataka may not fiend any takers

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Context: Tenders floated for implementation of the controversial Kalasa Banduri scheme by the previous BJP government minutes before Karnataka Assembly elections were .

What is the Kalasa-Banduri project?

• The Kalasa-Banduri project aims to divert water from Mahadayi to satisfy the drinking water needs of Belagavi, Dharwad, Bagalkot and Gadag districts in Karnataka.
• As per the plans, barrages are to be built on Kalasa and Banduri streams — tributaries of Mahadayi — and water diverted towards Karnataka’s parched districts. Mahadayi originates in the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Belagavi district of Karnataka, and flows into the Arabian Sea in Goa.
• A few days ago, Goa and Maharashtra governments sat together and issued a joint statement saying that they will put up a united fight against Karnataka in connection with the water diversion project.
• In November 2010, the UPA government at the Centre had set up a tribunal to settle disputes between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. In 2018, the tribunal awarded 13.42 TMC water from Mahadayi river basin to Karnataka, 1.33 TMC to Maharashtra and 24 TMC to Goa. The same was notified by the Union Government in February 2020.

Mahadayi river

• Mahadayi river rises in the Western Ghats, from the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Khanapur taluk of Karnataka’s Belagavi district.
• The river travels 35 km in Karnataka; 82 km in Goa before joining the Arabian Sea at Panji (North-Goa).
• Also called Mandovi in Goa, Mahadayi is a rain-fed river that is shared between Karnataka and Goa for their water needs.
• The Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is located on the island of Chorao in the Mandovi river.
• Major Tributaries: Kalasa Nala, Banduri Nala, Surla Nala, Haltar Nala, Poti Nala, Mahadayi Nala, Pansheer Nala, Bail Nala, Andher Nala.
• The variations in the terrain has led to formation of various water falls such as the Doodhsagarfalls, Vajra poha falls, etc

• Mahadayi river dispute is between the three basin states — Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
• The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) was finally set up by the Central government in 2010.

14. GE Aerospace, HAL sign MoU for manufacture of jet engines in India

Subject:Science and technology

Section: Defense

Concept :

• During the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister to Unites States (US), both the leaders have signed agreement on defence and security, maritime domain awareness and space among other areas.

Jet engine tech transfer:

• Both the countries have announced to sign a MoU for the co-production in India of ‘GE 414 Jet Engines’ for the Tejas Mk2 light combat aircraft.
• The deal is about manufacturing jet engines in India for Light Combat Aircraft `Tejas’ Mk2 and later for AMCA.
• The deal was between the US engine manufacturer General Electric and state owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

About the F414-GE-INS6 technology:

• This is an Indian version of the F414-GE-100 turbofan engine, which is used to power the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
• The ‘INS6 variant’ has a number of improvements, including:
• A higher thrust rating of 22,000 pounds (98 kN)
• A Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system
• The F414-GE-INS6 is being used to power the Indian Air Force’s Tejas Mk2 and it is also being considered for use in the ‘KAI KF-21 Boramae fighter’ jet program.

Significance:

• The F414-GE-INS6 is a reliable and powerful engine that is well-suited for use in a variety of fighter aircraft.
• It is expected to provide the Tejas Mk2 with the performance and operational capability it needs to meet the challenges of modern air combat.
• The deal will help India to become self-reliant in defense manufacturing.

Tejas-MK2 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA):

• The Indigenous LCA Tejas Mk2 is a fighter aircraft developed in India that can carry eight Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) missiles simultaneously, along with integrating all native weapons and advanced weapons from other countries.
• The LCA Mk2 is an upgraded version of the LCA Tejas Mk1, which has improved range and mission endurance.
• Features:
  • Designed to carry a range of air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision-guided, weapons.
  • Air to air refueling capability.

Other Variants of Tejas:

• Tejas Trainer: 2-seater operational conversion trainer for training air force pilots.
• LCA Navy: Twin- and single-seat carrier-capable for the Indian Navy.

15. L&T and DRDO sign pact for submarine propulsion system

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Defence

Concept :

• Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have signed a contract for the realisation of two Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) System Modules for the Kalvari Class of submarines of the Indian Navy.
• The Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) module extends the endurance of conventional submarines and is a niche technology.

AIP Technology:

• AIP refers to Air-Independent Propulsion, a technology for conventional— that is, non-nuclear — submarines.
• There are different types of AIP mechanisms available; what India is looking for under the P-75I project is AIP based on fuel cells. These cells convert chemical energy into electrical energy, recharging the batteries of the submarine.
• The Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) modules are said to be the core of the fuel cell-based AIP System, indigenously developed by the Naval Materials Research Laboratory of the DRDO with L&T as the prime industry partner.
• The Energy Modules comprising fuel cells produce the required power, along with onboard hydrogen generation.
• AIP has a force multiplier effect on lethality of a diesel electric submarine as it enhances the submerged endurance of the boat several folds.
• Diesel electric submarines must come to the surface or close to it (2-3 days) to run their generators to recharge the batteries that propel them under water. AIP is a mechanism that allows the batteries to be charged even while the boat is submerged. However, even with AIP, the submarine needs to surface every three weeks or so (14 days).
• While the six P-75 submarines are diesel- electric, they can be fitted with AIP technology later in their lives. By the time P-75I is completed under the 30-year project, India is projected to have six diesel-electric, six AIP-powered, and six nuclear attack submarines (yet to be built).

16. Medicines Patent Pool deal to make cancer drug cheaper

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Health

Concept:

• The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has signed sub-licence agreements with the India-based companies Eugia, Hetero and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, along with the Indonesian firm BrightGene, to make generic versions of the drug Nilotinib of the Switzerland-based pharmaceutical corporation Novartis.
• The drug Nilotinib is used for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, which is a type of blood cancer and the move is expected to make certain cancer drugs more accessible and cheaper for patients.
• Nilotinib is sold under the brand name Tasigna and marketed worldwide by Novartis.
• According to the recent announcement, the selected manufacturers can make generic versions of Nilotinib in India and seven middle-income countries and can also supply it in 44 territories included in the licence through a non-exclusive licence agreement, subject to local regulatory authorisation.

Medicines Patent Pool

• The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nation-backed international organisation founded in July 2010, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders, to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
• Its public health driven business model aims to lower the prices of HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C medicines and facilitate the development of better-adapted HIV treatments through voluntary licensing and patent pooling.
• Its goal is to improve access to affordable and appropriate HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis medicines in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
• Economics research finds evidence that the pool increases generic diffusion in LMIC and upstream innovation.

17. Amid search for Titan, lessons for proposed Indian submersible dive

Subject : Science and technology

Section: MSc

Concept:

• With hope dwindling on the chances of survival of those in the Titan submersible, scientists in India, preparing to undertake a similar dive in an indigenous vehicle late next year.

About Matsya:

• Matsya 6000 is an Indian crewed deep-submergence vehicle intended to be utilised for deep-sea exploration of rare minerals under the Deep Ocean mission or Samudrayaan mission at a depth of 6000 metres.
• Matsya, which literally translates to “fish” in Hindi, is a specialised vehicle that can carry a total of three passengers.
• Matsya-6000 also has syntactic foam, a flotation device that would rise to the top.
• It will help determine the physical location of the submersible, even if it were unable to resurface.

Purpose:

• This vehicle is a platform to carry any devices, sensors, etc to the deep-sea for doing experiments/observations in the presence of a human being.
• It will help in augmenting India’s capability with infrastructure facilities such as a high thickness welding facility and deep ocean simulator.
• The manned submersible is aimed at exploring oceans and to survey the ocean bed and collecting data and samples.

Samudrayan mission

• The goal of the Samudrayaan Mission is to develop a self-propelled manned submersible that is capable of carrying three people to a depth of 6,000 metres in the ocean.
• This submersible will also be outfitted with a collection of scientific sensors and instruments for use in deep ocean research.
• People from the scientific community will be able to directly observe and examine previously unmapped parts of the deep.
• In addition to this, it will improve the capability of constructing man-rated vehicles for use in deep water environments.
• The period is anticipated to be five years, beginning in 2020-2021 and ending in 2025-2026.

18. Manipur invokes RBI’s riot provisions to aid borrowers

Subject :Economy

Section: Monetary Policy

Concept :

• The Manipur state government has announced that the whole State has been impacted due to the riots and violence which has also affected the economic activities and livelihood of the public.
• In order to provide the much-needed relief, the State government has invoked a rarely used Reserve Bank of India (RBI) provision pertaining to restructuring and rescheduling of loans.
• Such provisions have been mostly invoked in areas affected by natural calamities and not for a law and order situation.

About the Rules

• The Reserve Bank of India (Relief Measures by Banks in Areas Affected by Natural Calamities) Directions, 2018 has been issued to banks in regard to matters relating to relief measures to be provided in areas affected by natural calamity.
• These Directions are in effect from October 2018.
• The RBI provision provides relief to borrowers when economic activity comes to a halt and offers a moratorium on the repayment of loans.
• The provisions of these Directions shall apply to every Scheduled Commercial Bank (including Small Finance Banks (SFBs) and excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)) licensed to operate in India by Reserve Bank of India.

19. Trade unions boycott G­20 meet over BMS appointment as chair

Subject : History

Section: Modern India

Context :

• The unions are unhappy with the Centre’s decision to appoint Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-supported trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) as the chair of the L20.
• The CTUs complained that the International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) used to chair the L20 meetings and the BMS was not a member of the ITUC.

About International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC):

• It is an organization established in 2006, that promotes the trade union movement.
• It represents 176 million workers in 161 countries and territories and has 325 national affiliates.
• Mission: Promotion and defence of workers’ rights and interests, through international cooperation between trade unions, global campaigning and advocacy within the major global institutions.
• Its main areas of activity include the following: trade union and human rights; economy, society and the workplace; equality and non-discrimination; and international solidarity.
• It is governed by four-yearly world congresses, a General Council and an Executive Bureau.
• It works closely with the International Labour Organisation and with several other UN Specialised Agencies.
• Headquarters: Belgium

20. ED cannot seek anybody’s interrogation in custody

Subject: Polity

Section: National body

Concept :

• The enforcement directorate (ED) does not have the power to seek custody of an accused for interrogation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Directorate of Enforcement (ED)

• The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of offences of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws.
• It functions under the Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance.
• As a premier financial investigation agency of the Government of India, the Enforcement Directorate functions in strict compliance with the Constitution and Laws of India.
• In tune with the International Anti Money Laundering regime, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) was enacted and ED was entrusted with its enforcement w.e.f. 1st July 2005.

Structure of ED

• The Directorate of Enforcement, with its headquarters at New Delhi, is headed by the Director of Enforcement.
• There are five regional offices at Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Delhi headed by Special Directors of Enforcement.
• The Directorate has 10 Zonal offices each of which is headed by a Deputy Director and 11 sub Zonal Offices each of which is headed by an Assistant Director.
• Recruitment of the officers is done directly and by drawing officers from other investigation agencies.
• It comprises officers of IRS (Indian Revenue Services), IPS (Indian Police Services) and IAS (Indian Administrative Services) such as Income Tax officer, Excise officer, Customs officer, and police.

Statutory Functions of ED

• The statutory functions of the Directorate include enforcement of following Acts:
• COFEPOSA: Under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA), this Directorate is empowered to sponsor cases of preventive detention with regard to contraventions of FEMA.
• Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA): It is a civil law enacted to consolidate and amend the laws relating to facilitate external trade and payments and to promote the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India.
• ED has been given the responsibility to conduct investigation into suspected contraventions of foreign exchange laws and regulations, to adjudicate and impose penalties on those adjudged to have contravened the law.
• Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA): Following the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) India enacted PMLA.
• The ED has been entrusted with the responsibility of executing the provisions of PMLA by conducting investigation to trace the assets derived from proceeds of crime, to provisionally attach the property and to ensure prosecution of the offenders and confiscation of the property by the Special court.
• Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA): Lately, with the increase in the number of cases relating to economic offenders taking shelter in foreign countries, the Government of India introduced the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA) and ED is entrusted with its enforcement.
• This law was enacted to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.
• Under this law, the ED is mandated to attach the properties of the fugitive economic offenders who have escaped from India warranting arrest and provide for the confiscation of their properties to the Central Government.

How ED Functions under PMLA?

• The ED carries out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) after it has decided that the money has been laundered, under Section 16 (power of survey) and Section 17 (search and seizure) of the PMLA.
• On the basis of that, the authorities decide if arrest is needed as per Section 19 (power of arrest).
• Under Section 50 of the PMLA, the ED can also directly carry out search and seizure without calling the person for questioning.
• It is not necessary to summon the person first and then start with the search and seizure.
• If the person is arrested, the ED gets 60 days to file the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) as the punishment under PMLA doesn’t go beyond seven years.
• If no one is arrested and only the property is attached, then the prosecution complaint along with attachment order is to be submitted before the adjudicating authority within 60 days.

ED’s Jurisdiction

• Both FEMA or PMLA apply to the whole of India. So, the ED can take action against any person on which this act applies.
• Cases under FEMA may lie in civil courts where PMLA cases will lie in criminal courts.
• The agency has jurisdiction over a person or any other legal entity who commits a crime.
• All the public servants come under the jurisdiction of the agency if they are involved in any offence related to money laundering.
• ED can not take an action suo motu. One has to complain to any other agency or Police first and then ED will investigate the matter and will identify the accused.
• The ED will investigate the matter and may attach the property of an accused person and also make an arrest and start proceeding with the violation of the provisions of FEMA and PMLA act.
• The matter will be resolved by way of adjudication by courts or PMLA courts.
• For further reference on PMLA – https://optimizeias.com/prevention-of-money-laundering-act/