Daily Prelims Notes 26 June 2024

Daily Prelims Notes

26 June 2024

1. India’s External Debt

SUB: Economy

SEC: External Sector

Overall Debt and Growth:

• Total External Debt: $663.8 billion, an increase of $39.7 billion from March 2023.
• Debt-to-GDP Ratio: Declined to 18.7% from 19.0% in the previous year.

Valuation Effect:

• Impact of Currency Appreciation: The appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Indian rupee and other major currencies (yen, euro, and SDR) accounted for a valuation effect of $8.7 billion.

Debt Composition: 

• Currency Breakdown:
  • U.S. Dollar-Denominated Debt: Largest share at 53.8%.
  • Indian Rupee-Denominated Debt: 31.5%.
  • Yen: 5.8%.
  • SDR (Special Drawing Rights): 5.4%.
  • Euro: 2.8%.
• Debt Categories:
  • Loans: Largest component at 33.4%.
  • Currency and Deposits: 23.3%.
  • Trade Credit and Advances: 17.9%.
  • Debt Securities: 17.3%.

Sectoral Increase:

• Government and Non-Government: Both sectors saw an increase in outstanding debt over the year.

Implications and Observations:

• Economic Management: The decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio suggests effective management of external debt relative to economic growth.
• Currency Risk: The significant proportion of U.S. dollar-denominated debt highlights exposure to currency risk, particularly fluctuations in the value of the dollar.
• Loan Dependency: Loans as the largest component of external debt indicate a reliance on borrowed funds for economic activities.

Public Debt

• Public debt refers to the total amount of money that a government owes to external creditors and domestic lenders.
• India’s Public Debt: Comprises all obligations of the Union government that are required to be settled using funds from the Consolidated Fund of India.

Main Types:

• External Debt: The portion of a country’s debt owed to foreign creditors, including foreign governments, international organizations, and private entities outside the country.
• Characteristics: Subject to exchange rate fluctuations and international economic conditions.
• Internal Debt: Debt owed to lenders within the country, including individuals, banks, and other domestic institutions.

2. K-Shaped Recovery and Inflation Trends in India

SUB: Economy

SEC: National Income

K-Shaped Recovery:

• K-shaped recovery refers to an uneven economic recovery where different sectors, industries, or groups within the economy recover at different rates.
• Current Situation: India’s economic recovery post-pandemic is described as K-shaped, driven by demand for higher-end goods and services.

Impact on Inflation:

• Inflation Dynamics: This uneven recovery is fuelling similar trends in inflation, with notable differences in inflation rates across different segments of the economy.
• Food and Rural Price Rise: Food prices and rural inflation are rising faster compared to inflation in other goods and services and urban areas.
• Goods vs. Services Inflation: Inflation for goods is higher than that for services.

Key Observations by HSBC:

• Shocks Driving Variance: The same shocks driving the variance in growth, such as the pandemic and climate change, are also likely driving the variance in prices.
• Economic Dynamics: The uneven recovery is linked to broader economic dynamics and external shocks that affect different groups in varying ways.
• Highlights that the factors causing disparities in economic growth are similarly influencing inflation patterns.

Conclusion

• Economic Inequality: The K-shaped recovery in India underscores economic inequality, with certain sectors and groups recovering faster and benefiting more than others.
• Policy Implications: Addressing these disparities in both economic growth and inflation requires targeted policies that consider the diverse impacts on different segments of the population.

Types of Economic Recovery Shapes 

• Z-Shaped Recovery:
  • Description: Sharp decline followed by a quick and robust recovery.
  • Characteristics: The economy surpasses its previous peak.
  • Key Point: Strong and quick recovery surpassing previous peak.
• V-Shaped Recovery:
  • Description: Rapid and robust rebound after a sharp economic decline.
  • Characteristics: Quick bounce back, resembling the upward slope of the letter “V.”
  • Key Point: Rapid and robust rebound.
• U-Shaped Recovery:
  • Description: Gradual decline followed by a slow and steady recovery.
  • Characteristics: Period of stagnation at the bottom before improvement begins.
  • Key Point: Gradual decline and slow recovery with a period of stagnation.
• Elongated U-Shaped Recovery:
  • Description: Extended period of economic downturn before a gradual upturn.
  • Characteristics: Similar to U-shaped but with a longer downturn period.
  • Key Point: Extended downturn before gradual upturn.
• W-Shaped Recovery:
  • Description: Sharp economic decline, temporary recovery, another decline, and final recovery.
  • Characteristics: Resembles the letter “W” with a double-dip pattern.
  • Key Point: Double-dip recovery pattern.
• L-Shaped Recovery:
  • Description: Sharp economic decline followed by prolonged stagnation or slow growth.
  • Characteristics: No significant upward trajectory, economy remains at a lower level.
  • Key Point: Prolonged stagnation after a sharp decline.
• K-Shaped Recovery:
  • Description: Divergent paths for different sectors or segments of the economy.
  • Characteristics: Some sectors or groups experience rapid recovery and growth (upward branch of “K”), while others continue to decline or stagnate (downward branch of “K”).
  • Key Point: Divergent paths for different sectors or segments.

These conceptual models help economists and analysts describe and predict the overall trajectory of an economy in response to various events or shocks. The actual shape of the recovery depends on factors such as government policies, consumer behavior, global economic conditions, and the nature of the initial shock.

3. India’s Water Stress and Its Impact on Credit Profile

SUB: Economy

SEC: Indian economy

Moody’s Rating and Warning:

• Current Rating: India is currently rated Baa3 stable by Moody’s, the lowest investment-grade rating.
• Warning: Moody’s cautions that India’s growing water shortage and frequent climate change-driven natural disasters could negatively impact the country’s sovereign credit strength.

Implications of Water Stress:

• Economic Disruption: A drop in water supply, heavily reliant on monsoon rains, could disrupt factory and farm operations.
• Inflation: Water stress could spur inflation in food prices.
• Income Declines: Businesses and communities affected by water shortages may see declines in income.
• Social Unrest: These factors could spark social unrest.

Vulnerability to Water Management Risks:

• High Vulnerability: India is highly susceptible to water stress and has the poorest access to basic services, including water, among G-20 economies.
• Workforce Impact: More than 40% of India’s workforce is employed in agriculture, making the economy vulnerable to water-related disruptions.

Environmental Risks:

• Identified Sectors: Coal-fired power generation and steel production are the industrial sectors most vulnerable to water stress.

Access to Basic Services:

• Poorest Among G-20: India has the poorest access to basic services, including water, among G-20 economies.
• Population and Industrialization: Rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization are reducing water availability.

Water Availability Statistics:

• Per Capita Availability: Average annual water availability per capita is projected to drop to 1,367 cubic meters by 2031 from 1,486 cubic meters in 2021.
• Water Stress Threshold: A level below 1,700 cubic meters indicates water stress, with 1,000 cubic meters being the threshold for water scarcity (as per the Water Resources Ministry).

Conclusion:

• Economic Growth and Stability: The growing water stress could undermine India’s economic growth and stability, posing risks to its ability to withstand economic shocks.
• Need for Efficient Water Management: Efficient water management and mitigation of environmental risks are crucial for sustaining India’s economic growth and maintaining its credit profile.

Credit Rating:

A credit rating is a quantified assessment of the creditworthiness of a borrower. It evaluates the likelihood that the borrower will repay its debt obligations on time.

Credit ratings can be assigned to individuals, corporations, state or provincial authorities, or sovereign governments.

Sovereign Credit Rating (SCR):

• An independent assessment of the creditworthiness of a country or sovereign entity.
• Provides insights into the risk associated with investing in a country’s debt, including political risks.

Importance:

• Essential for developing countries to access funding in international bond markets.
• Used by investors to assess the riskiness of a country’s bonds.

Obtaining a Rating:

• A country requests a credit rating, and the rating agency evaluates its economic and political environment.

Standards:

• Moody’s: Baa3 or higher is investment grade; Ba1 and below is speculative.
• S&P: BBB- or higher is investment grade; BB+ or lower is speculative or “junk” grade.

Role of Rating Agencies

Function:

Assess the financial strength of companies and government entities, particularly their ability to meet debt obligations.

Provide independent evaluations of credit risk.

Major International Agencies:

The Big Three: Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, and Standard & Poor’s (S&P), controlling about 95% of the global ratings business.

4. Pakistan delegation allowed access to Ratle power projects on Chenab river in J&K

SUB: Geography

SEC: Mapping

Context:

• A five-member Pakistan delegation and neutral experts from the World Bank visited the Ratle power project on the Chenab River.
• The delegation also plans to inspect the 1,000-MW Pakal Dul hydroelectric project on the Marusudar River (Marwah Valley), a tributary of the Chenab.

Background and Technical Objections:

• Pakistan has raised technical objections to various power projects in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) since 2006.
• Pakistan previously raised objections to the Kishanganga project in the Kashmir valley in 2006.

Rattle Hydroelectric dam:

• The Ratle Hydroelectric Plant is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station, with permitted pondage under the Indus Water Treaty, currently under construction on the Chenab River, downstream of the village near Drabshalla in Kishtwar district of the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Chenal river:

• ​​The Chenab River is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region.
• It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh, India.
• The Chenab flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, before ultimately flowing into the Indus River.

About Indus Water Treaty (IWT):

• It is a treaty signed between India and Pakistan regulating the use and distribution of the Indus River system.
• It was signed by then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and former Pakistan President Ayub Khan in 1960.
• The treaty was brokered by the World Bank, which too is a signatory to the treaty.
• The pact sought to divide the water of the Indus River and its tributaries (Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab) equitably among the two countries.
• Under the treaty, water from three eastern rivers, Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej, was allocated to India, and water from the three western rivers – Chenab, Indus, and Jhelum was allocated to Pakistan.
  • Pakistan roughly got 80% of the water in the Indus drainage system.
• The treaty also permits both countries to use the other’s rivers for certain purposes, such as small hydroelectric projects that require little or no water storage.
• The treaty is overseen by the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC), a bilateral body with commissioners from both countries tasked with implementing and managing treaty provisions and resolving any questions, differences, or disputes that may arise.
• The World Bank’s role is to appoint a neutral expert in case of ‘technical’ differences, failing which the differences are escalated to a dispute for international arbitration.

Permanent Indus Commission (PIC):

• PIC is a bilateral commission of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage the goals of the Indus Waters Treaty, of 1960.
• The Commission according to the treaty must meet regularly at least once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan.

The functions of the Commission are:

• to study and report to the two Governments on any problem relating to the development on the waters of the rivers.
• to solve disputes arising over water sharing.
• to arrange technical visits to projects’ sites and critical river head works.
• to undertake, once in every five years, a general tour of inspection of the Rivers for ascertaining the facts.
• to take necessary steps for the implementation of the provisions of the treaty.

Source: TH

5. New Antarctic Ice Tipping Point Discovered as Study Says We’ve Underestimated Melting

SUB :Environment

SEC: Climate Change

Context:

• New research by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has discovered a concerning way that large ice sheets can melt due to warm seawater infiltrating the underside of ground-based ice.
• This phenomenon could represent a new “climate tipping point,” where a small change in ocean temperature leads to significant increases in ice melting and ice flow towards the sea.

Mechanism of Melting:

• Warm seawater can travel long distances beneath ice sheets and infiltrate the space between the land and the ice, causing localized melting.
• This process lubricates the ice bed, influencing the rate at which ice slides towards the sea, potentially accelerating ice loss.

Implications:

• Melting in the grounding zones of ice sheets shows tipping point-like behaviour, with small temperature changes causing substantial increases in melting and ice flow.
• Previous research underestimated the sensitivity and potential instability of Antarctic ice compared to Arctic ice, but recent declines in Antarctic sea ice extent highlight its vulnerability.
• The researchers emphasize that current ice sheet models lack the ability to simulate melting beneath grounded ice, which is critical for accurate projections of sea level rise.

Recent Trends and Projections:

• Antarctic sea ice extent increased steadily from 1978 to 2015, while Arctic ice melted significantly.
• Since 2017, Antarctic Sea ice has declined, reaching record lows in 2022 and 2023.
• The new understanding of melting mechanisms suggests that projections of sea level rise due to Antarctic and Greenland ice sheet changes might be significant underestimates. Researchers are working to incorporate this new knowledge into ice sheet models.

Tipping points:

• Several studies in the past 15 years have identified different tipping points such as the disintegration of the Greenland ice sheet, a spontaneous reduction in Amazon forest cover, melting of glaciers, or softening of the permanently frozen grounds in the polar regions that have large amounts of carbon trapped in them.
• Over the years, researchers have identified at least 15 tipping points, each correlated with different levels of temperature rise.
• The latest study has identified nine global and seven regional tipping points and has re-assessed their dynamics and correlation with global warming.

6. Why is Julian Assange flying to the remote Pacific Island of Saipan?

SUB: IR

SEC: Places in news

Context:

• Julian Assange is expected to plead guilty to a single criminal charge in a plea deal, leading to his release and return to Australia.
• The plea deal involves a 62-month sentence, which he has already served.
• If the plea deal is approved, Assange will return to Australia after the court hearing.

Saipan island:

• Saipan is the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), a US commonwealth in the western Pacific, located about 70 km north of Guam.
• Residents are US citizens but cannot vote in presidential elections. The NMI has a non-voting delegate in the US House of Representatives.
• US District Court: Saipan hosts a US district court, which will handle Assange’s case.

Reason for Choosing Saipan:

• Assange sought a court close to Australia but within US territory. Saipan is roughly 3,000 km south of Australia and closer than other US territories like Hawaii.

Historical Context:

• Colonial History: Saipan was controlled by Spain, Germany, and Japan before the US took control during World War II.
• US Commonwealth: In 1975, residents voted to join the US as a territory.

Tourism and Economy:

• Saipan is a popular tourist destination, known for its beaches, golf courses, and World War II memorials and wrecks.
• It is unique in allowing Chinese citizens to enter without a visa, a policy that has raised concerns about espionage risks in the US Congress.

Source: IE

7. Territories East of the Mahakali River including Kalapani belongs to Nepal, says PM Prachanda

SUB: IR

SEC: Places in news

Context:

• Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ asserted that territories east of the Mahakali River, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani, and Lipu Pass, belong to Nepal.
• He cited the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 with the East India Company as the basis for these claims.
• Nepal’s political map, updated in May 2020 under K P Sharma Oli’s government, includes these territories and was unanimously endorsed by Parliament.

Details of the border dispute:

• In the early 1960s, king Mahendra gave consent to Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to continue the use of the Lipulekh-Kalapani area.
• In 1961, Mahendra signed a boundary treaty with China, which says, ‘The boundary line starts from the point where the watershed between the Kali River and the Tinkar River meet the watershed between the tributaries of the Mapchu (Karnali) River on the one hand and the Tinkar River on the other hand’. This treaty makes Tinkar, about 10 kilometres south of Lipulekh—the tri-junction where the China-India-Nepal borders meet—and supports India’s current position.
• In 1991, Nepal formally raised the border issue with India, and a technical committee was formed to resolve it.
• The panel identified several areas with contested claims and resolved 90 percent of them. But, according to Nepali sources, India repeatedly baulked at Nepal’s request for talks on Limpiyadhura-Kalapani-Lipulekh.
• Since the Sugauli Treaty states that the area east of the Kali is Nepal, fixing the source of the river should resolve the dispute.
• Under the international convention, the tributary with the largest water volume or with the longest course carries the name of the main river.
• This would make Limpiyadhura the source of the Kali, but no border issue has been resolved on technical arguments alone.

India’s Response:

• India criticized Nepal’s new map, labeling it a “unilateral act” and “artificial enlargement” of territorial claims, asserting that these areas belong to India.
• Despite India’s objections, Nepal has adopted the new map in official documents.

India- Nepal Border relations:

• Nepal shares an 1,850-km border with five Indian states: Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
• During Prachanda‘s recent visit to India, discussions were held to revise existing treaties, including the 1950 India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and resolve border issues through diplomatic channels.
• A letter has been sent to India to convene the seventh meeting of the Border Working Group to address remaining border issues, as per the commitments from the Nepal-India Joint Commission meeting.

Border Relations with China:

• Nepal resolves border issues with China through bilateral talks and consensus.
• In March 2022, Nepal and China agreed to advance joint border monitoring activities through mutual consultation.

Treaty of Sugauli 1816:

• Signed between the Gurkha chiefs of Nepal and the British Indian government that ended the Anglo-Nepalese (Gurkha) War (1814–16).
• The 1816 Treaty of Sugauli defined Gandaki River as the international boundary between India and Nepal.
• The right bank of the river was under Nepal’s control while the left bank was under India’s control.

Mahakali river (or Sharda river):

• The Sharda River is the downstream of Kali River (or Mahakali River) that originates in the northern Uttarakhand state of India in the Great Himalayas on the eastern slopes of Nanda Devi massif, at an elevation of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) in the Pithoragarh district. 
• It then flows between the Nepal and India border.
• Descending, it enters the Indo-Gangetic Plain at Brahmadev Mandi in Nepal, where it expands above the Sharda Barrage. From that point onward, it is known as the Sharda River.
• The river proceeds southeastward into India through northern Uttar Pradesh before merging with the Ghaghara River southwest of Bahraich, covering a distance of approximately 300 miles (480 km).

Source: TP

8. Defence Ministry signs 350th contract under iDEX for miniaturized satellite

SUB: Science and tech

SEC: Defence

Context:

• The 350th contract under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) which is the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Defence was signed with Space Pixel Technologies Pvt Ltd for the design and development of a ‘miniaturized satellite capable of carrying electro-optical, infrared, synthetic aperture radar, and hyperspectral payloads up to 150 kgs’, is announced on Tuesday.

Key Highlights:

• This 350th iDEX contract enables innovation in space electronics, wherein many payloads earlier deployed on dedicated large satellites are now being miniaturized.
• The modular small satellite will integrate multiple miniaturized payloads as per requirement, providing advantages like faster and economical deployment, ease of manufacturing, scalability, adaptability, and less environmental impact.

About iDEX:

•  iDEX was established by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation(DIO) under the Department of Defence Production.
• Recently it  unveiled the Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX (ADITI) scheme to promote innovations in critical and strategic defense technologies.
• It was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in April 2018.
• It will be funded and managed by a Defence Innovation Organization (DIO).
• It will function as the executive arm of DIO, carrying out all the required activities while DIO will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX.
• It aims at creation of an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace.
• The iDEX was the recipient of the Prime Minister Award for Public Policy in Innovation Category in 2021 and is currently engaged with over 400 start-ups and MSMEs.

The objectives of iDEX are:

• Facilitate rapid development of new, indigenized, and innovative technologies for the Indian defense and aerospace sector, to meet needs for these sectors in shorter timelines;
• Create a culture of engagement with innovative startups, to encourage co-creation for defense and aerospace sectors; and
• Empower a culture of technology co-creation and co-innovation within the defense and aerospace sectors.

Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO)

• It is formed as a “not for profit‟ company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
• Its primary objective is to fund and manage the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX).
• It will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX.
• The CEO of iDEX will be selected and recruited by the DIO and will be a professional person of sound technical, scientific and engineering background.

9. Meet the new Sino-French satellite, which will detect the most powerful explosions in the universe

SUB: Science and tech

SEC: Space sector

Context:

• A satellite jointly developed by China and France was launched into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province on June 22.

About the satellite:

• It is the most powerful satellite yet for studying gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) — they result from some of the universe’s most explosive events such as the birth of black holes and neutron star collisions — according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
• Known as Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), the spacecraft is expected to play an important role in astronomical explorations.
• It is the first astronomy satellite jointly developed by China and France.

Why study gamma-ray bursts?

• GRBs are bursts of highly energetic gamma rays, which last from less than a second to several minutes. They are known to occur in distant realms of the universe, and can erupt with a quintillion (a 10 followed by 18 zeros) times the luminosity of the Sun.
• There are two types of GRBs, short GRBs and long GRBs. Short GRBs are a result of the collision of either two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole, resulting in a black hole.
• They last for less than two seconds.
• Sometimes, short GRBs are followed by kilonovas — blasts of electromagnetic radiation (or light) that are produced by the radioactive decay of chemical elements.
• The decay can lead to the generation of heavier elements like gold, silver, and platinum, NASA said.
• Long GRBs are produced due to the explosive deaths of massive stars.
• These can last for two seconds or longer.
• Scientists observe GRBs as they carry information pertaining to violent events such as the end of life of massive stars, the formation of black holes in distant galaxies, and how they shape the universe.

What will SVOM do?

• The primary objective of SVOM is to look for GRBs across the universe.
• Once found, the satellite will measure and study their electromagnetic radiation properties.
• It will also use the bursts to unlock mysteries regarding the evolution of the universe, and gravitational waves (scientists have observed that both gravitational waves and GRBs originate from the collision of neutron stars).
• The SVOM satellite is capable of searching for kilonovas as well.
• Such a detection would be of great significance to the study of stellar evolution, and to answering very interesting scientific questions such as where heavy elements like gold and silver come from in the universe.

What are the features of SVOM?

• The 930-kg satellite consists of four payloads — two developed by the French and two by the Chinese.
• The French have built the ECLAIRs and MXT telescopes, which will detect and capture the GRBs.
• The Gamma Ray Burst Monitor (GRB), built by the Chinese, will measure the spectrum of GRBs.
• The Visible Telescope (VT), also developed by the Chinese, will detect and observe visible emissions produced immediately after a GRB.

10. Brains that don’t see in greyscale first over-rely on colors: Project Prakash study

SUB: Science and tech

SEC: Human health

Context:

• In May, a team of Indian and U.S. researchers reported in the journal Science that this delay in developing color vision is actually important for overall vision development.

More on news:

• Project Prakash treats and rehabilitates blind children in India. These children helped the researchers shed light on how the brain learns to see.

Importance of color vision:

• Humans don’t need color vision to recognise objects but colors can provide adaptation and survival advantages.
• Children often described objects around them with their color.
• Their reliance on colors is a little more than what normal children have.
• This observation gave the researchers an idea about how to show them some things without color.
• The children could recognise color images and discs quite well — even those who were barely two days out of eye surgery. But they had a tough time recognising black and white images.
• Children without any visual impairment had trouble neither with color nor grayscale images, on the other hand.

Mimicking visual development:

• Normally, a child first understands the world in grayscale.
• The first time the children at Project Prakash experienced normal vision, their eyes had developed enough to see colors as well, so they skipped the grayscale phase.
• Their brain processed black and white images differently as a result.
• To understand the effects of this issue, the researchers needed a proxy to the brain that they could tweak to learn in response to different visual stimuli.
• They set up a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) — a computer program that processes information the way neurons in the brain’s visual cortex do.
• They trained four CNNs, one each on color and grayscale images in a particular order:
  • grey-grey,
  • color-color.
  • color-grey.
  • grey-color.
• They found the grey-CNN recognised both greyscale and color images better than any of the other models.
• The color-color model, which most mimicked visual development among Project Prakash’s children — fared worse at identifying greyscale images.
• The researchers attributed this to the color-color model’s overreliance on color cues when examining images because its training data was composed solely of color images.
• The grey-color model had learnt enough cues from the greyscale images and was thus better able to recognise color images.

Optimizing visual development:

• It’s fascinating that the brain develops object recognition and color perception at different times.
• For example, children could also be made to experience a room deprived of color, simulating a black and white or a greyscale environment, for a few hours at a time.

What is a convolutional neural network?

• A convolutional neural network is a regularized type of feed-forward neural network that learns features by itself via filter optimization.
• Vanishing gradients and exploding gradients, seen during backpropagation in earlier neural networks, are prevented by using regularized weights over fewer connections.

11. Chinese lunar probe returns to Earth with world’s first samples from the far side of the moon

SUB: Science and tech

SEC: Space sector

Context:

• China’s Chang’e 6 probe returned to Earth on June 25 with rock and soil samples from the little-explored far side of the moon.

More on news:

• The probe landed in northern China on Tuesday afternoon in the Inner Mongolian region.
• Chinese scientists anticipate the returned samples will include 2.5 million-year-old volcanic rock and other material that scientists hope will answer questions about geographic differences on the moon’s two sides.
• While U.S. and Soviet missions have also collected samples from the moon’s near side, the Chinese mission was the first that has collected samples from the far side.

What is the Near side and Far side of the Moon?

• The near side of the moon is what is seen from Earth, while the far side always faces outer space
• The far side is also known to have mountains and impact craters, contrasting with the relatively flat expanses visible on the near side.
• The probe left earth on May 3, and its journey lasted 53 days.
• The probe has drilled into the core and scooped rocks from the surface.

About the samples collected:

• The samples are expected to answer one of the most fundamental scientific questions in lunar science research: what geologic activity is responsible for the differences between the two sides.
• China in recent years has launched multiple successful missions to the moon, collecting samples from the moon’s near side with the Chang’e 5 probe previously.
• Scientists are also hoping that the probe will return with material that bears traces of meteorite strikes from the moon’s past.

12. WikiLeaks | The enemy of the deep state

SUB: Science and tech

SEC: Awareness in IT and Computer

Context:

• The slow but sure process of extraditing Julian Assange, co-founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks from the U.K. to the U.S. took a firm step on Friday when the British Home Secretary, Priti Patel, gave the go-ahead to the move.

More on news:

• Mr. Assange is wanted in the U.S. for criminal charges, including breaking the Espionage Act for WikiLeaks’ actions of leaking thousands of secret U.S. files in 2010.
• He could face punishment ranging up to 175 years in prison for violations of the Espionage Act.

What is Wikileaks?

• On its website, WikiLeaks says it is a multinational media organization that specializes in analyzing and publishing databases of censored or otherwise restricted materials involving wars, spying and corruption.
• It was founded by Assange in 2006 and lists several international media organizations among its co-publishers, research partners and funders.
• It is a not-for-profit organization that is funded through public donations.
• WikiLeaks is a giant library of the world’s most persecuted documents.
• The most controversial leaks by WikiLeaks featured classified U.S. military documents and videos from the war it waged in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early to mid-2000s that it said highlighted issues such as abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody, human rights violations and civilian deaths.
• While initially the website began as a disclosure portal on the lines of the Wikipedia model, with anonymous submissions being put up and edited by volunteers, it soon became a repository of anonymously sourced material.
• News and classified information could be uploaded on it using the anonymity software Tor, which protects the uploader’s identity from being eavesdropped on any network and even by WikiLeaks itself.
• One of the earliest revelations by Wikileaks was on how the U.S. government had been deploying practices at the Guantanamo Bay facility holding terror suspects that were in violation of the Geneva Convention protocols.

13. ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian army chief, former defence minister

SUB: IR

SEC: Int org

Context: The International Criminal Court on Tuesday said it had issued arrest warrants for Russia’s Army chief and former Defence Minister over strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure that constituted alleged war crimes

• The International Criminal Court (“the ICC” or “the Court”) is a permanent international court established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression
• On 17 July 1998, 120 States adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court establishing the
• The International Criminal Court is not a substitute for national courts. According to the Rome Statute, it is the duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes.
• The International Criminal Court can only intervene where a State is unable or unwilling genuinely to carry out the investigation and prosecute the perpetrators.
• The ICC is an independent body whose mission is to try individuals for crimes within its jurisdiction without the need for a special mandate from the United Nations.
• ​The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
• The ICC, based in The Hague, does not have its own police force to enforce arrest warrants. It relies on the justice systems of its 124 members to carry them out. In theory, anyone under a warrant is prevented from travelling to an ICC member state for fear of arrest.