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  • How to treat data as public good

    This is the age of Big data. Even after anonymising it, we gain useful information using analytical tools. So, given its potential, there is a call for treating the public data as a public good. This article analyses the suggestion of Kris Gopalakrishnan panel in this regard.

    Why data matter

    • By one brave count, the world generates over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day.
    • A significant chunk of it is highly valuable.
    • With the increasing sophistication of tools designed to analyse it, the value of the data is increasing further.
    • This analysis of data can yield market patterns, traffic predictions, epidemic risks and much more.[Remember why Google shows you only particular ads.]
    • Data need not be either big or personal for it to be highly sought after.

    Non-personal data: A public good

    • Would it not be better if at least some data were treated as a public good?
    • Treating it as a public good will allow its open use by startups, do-gooders and government bodies.
    • Dealing with such questions, a centre-appointed panel, headed by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, submitted its draft report on the regulation of non-personal data in India.
    • “Non-personal data” is defined as that which is either devoid of people’s details or anonymized to prevent individual identification.

    Proposals of Kris Gopalan panel

    • The panel has proposed a new data authority to regulate non-personal data.
    • It has also outlined the need of a framework that would require companies to share its databanks with others.
    • Sharing of databank will help the country catalyse business innovation, bolster India’s startup ecosystem, and help governments and local authorities frame data-enriched public policies. 

    Challenges

    • What data a private entity can be forced to disclose must follow a commonly accepted set of principles.
    • Data authority demanding companies to share data painstakingly acquired often with large sums invested to acquire it won’t work.
    • Also, if sharing data blunts companies’ strategic edge over competitors, they would probably appeal against it in court.
    • If enterprises fear that their confidential learnings could be threatened by intrusive data authority, then the cause of innovation would actually be set back.

    Way forward

    • A clear set of guidelines could be set down that specify what sort of data qualifies as a public good and must be kept open to all.
    • For other kinds of data, maybe a market mechanism could evolve that lets various parties bid for privately-held information.

    Consider the question “There is a growing demand for treating the non-personal data as a public good. What are the benefits and challenges of treating the non-personal data as public good?

    Conclusion

    Given its potential, big data does deserve regulation. But it needs to be done with clarity.

  • Centralisation in decision making in education

    The article tracks the evolution of the India education system after Independence. While the decentralisation and active encouragement underscores the initial years, recent trends shows a growing emphasis on centralisation.

    How Government support contributed to rise of educational institutions

    • In the initial decades after Independence, the government was conscious of various social, economic and financial challenges.
    • So, the government strongly supported universities, encouraging them to further develop an academic .
    • The IITs and IIM along with institutions of academic excellence like the IISc, Indian Statistical Institute, and JNU emerged as model institutions.
    • The institutional and academic autonomy offered was central to their emerging as premier institutions.
    • Other universities revised curricula and set about the task of reforming the university as a space for healthy academic engagement.

    Rise of decentralisation in collective decision making

    • The above changes were marked by the growing importance of various large representative institutional bodies.
    • For example, institutional bodies like faculty committees, committees of courses, board of studies, university senates, academic councils and executive councils grew in importance.
    • These bodies oversaw the administrative and academic functioning of the university and ensured collective decision-making.
    • Debate over ideological positions, scholarly beliefs shaped the process of nation-building in independent India.

    Policy changes and its impact (2005-15)

    • The constitution of the National Knowledge Commission and privatisation of education undermined the deliberative and independent character of these institutions of higher education.
    • Administrative and academic decisions were imposed from above.
    • Discussions within various academic bodies were discouraged.
    • The imposition of the semester system and a four-year undergraduate programme in many public and private universities were hallmarks of this new era of bureaucratic centralisation.
    • The academic achievements of scholars from Indian universities were undermined.
    • Those in positions of authority within the universities were encouraged to undermine academic bodies and limit their role.

    New government intervention after 2015

    • Futher changes were introduced starting from 2015.
    • Choice Based Credit System was introduced and there were renewed attempts to privatise higher education linked to an emphasis on rankings.
    • The government started to look into minute details pertaining to academic curricula, the teaching-learning process and the parameters that governed academic research within the university.

    Centralisation in Covid-19 pandemic

    • The centralisation trend intensified with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • The Central government and the University Grants Commission have imposed themselves on the daily functioning of all higher educational institutions.
    • This represents a new government-oriented bureaucratic centralisation.
    • Decisions about the conclusion of academic term, the modalities for evaluation and the conduct of the teaching-learning process have become exclusive government prerogatives.
    • The various academic bodies that had original jurisdiction over these matters have been made redundant.
    • How and whether examinations are to be conducted has become an issue of contention between State and Central governments.

    Consider the question “Centralisation of the decision making instead of at institutional level in educational institutions and universities lies at many woes of the higher education in India. Comment.”

    Conclusion

    The time has come for institutions of higher education in India to recover their lost voice and restore the fertile academic space where ideas are discussed and debated rather than suppressed and dismissed.

    Original article:

    https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-lost-voice-of-the-indian-university/article32105945.ece

  • Trending in news: 5G Technology

    One of India’s business tycoon recently announced that his company’s telecom venture has designed and developed from scratch, a complete indigenous 5G solution ready for deployment.

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

    Q.With reference to communication technologies, what is/are the difference/differences between LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and VoLTE (Voice over Long-Term Evolution)?

    1. LTE ‘is commonly marketed as 3G and VoLTE is commonly marketed as advanced 3G.
    2. LTE is data-only technology and VoLTE is voice-only technology.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    What is 5G?

    • 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
    • The first generation of networks allowed only mobile voice calls to be made, while the second generation allowed mobile voice calls as well as sending of short text messages.
    • It was the third generation or 3G network which allowed web browsing on mobile devices, the speed and latency of which improved with fourth-generation or 4G networks.
    • The 5G networks will have even faster speeds with latency down to between 1-10 milliseconds.

    (Note: Latency is the time a device takes to communicate with the network, which stands at an average of up to 50 milliseconds for 4G networks across the world.)

    How does 5G work?

    All 5G networks chiefly operate on three spectrum bands.

    • The low-band spectrum has been proven to have great coverage and works fast even in underground conditions. However, the maximum speed limit on this band is 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
    • In the mid-band spectrum, though the speeds are higher, telcos across the world have registered limitations when it comes to coverage area and penetration of telephone signals into buildings.
    • The high-band spectrum offers the highest speed but has extremely limited network coverage area and penetration capabilities.

    The telcos using this band rely on the existing LTE networks and will need to install a number of smaller towers to ensure adequate coverage and high-speed performance.

    What does it mean to be 5G ready?

    • Globally many companies have been deploying 5G networks across their service areas as early as 2018.
    • Not only the network, but the devices will also have to be 5G ready for customers to be able to enjoy the maximum benefits of the latest upgrade in mobile broadband.
    • One of the major improvements in 5G is the use of beam tracking to follow all devices on the network to ensure consistent connection in real-time for the device.
    • 5G networks are also designed to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) efficient which improves signal throughput for all devices on the network.

    Where does India stand on the deployment of 5G?

    • Companies, both telecom service providers and their equipment vendors, have completed lab trials of 5G network components but are yet to commence field trials, which were initially scheduled to happen last year.
    • For the same, telecom companies are awaiting allocation of test spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
    • The service providers have already tied up with equipment makers like Nokia, Ericsson, etc for deploying their 5G networks.

  • Supreme Court to examine Kerala Act on animal, bird sacrifices

    The Supreme Court has agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the Kerala Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition Act of 1968 that prohibits sacrifice of animals and birds in temples to ‘please’ the deity.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q. The ritual slaughters of animals in India is a greater ethical issue than a legal one. Analyse.

    The dichotomy over ritual slaughter

    • The Supreme Court is set to analyse how the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 allows the killing of animals but prohibits cruelty to animals.
    • It highlighted the “dichotomy” in animal protection law that allows the killing of animals for food but does not permit “killing of animals for an offer to a deity and then consumption”.

    Why did SC interfere?

    • However, the 1968 Kerala law bans the killing of animals and birds for religious sacrifices but not for personal consumption.
    • This amounted to arbitrary classification.

    Legal protections to Animal sacrifice

    • The Kerala Act criminalizes the intent behind the animal sacrifice and not animal sacrifice per se.
    • If the sacrifice is not for propitiating any deity but for personal consumption even in the precincts of the temple, it is not forbidden.
    • Section 28 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1960 does not make the killing of animals for religious purposes and offence.

    Appeal citing the necessity of the practice

    • The oral remarks came in an appeal filed by P.E. Gopalakrishnan and some others, who are Shakthi worshippers, and for whom, animal sacrifice is an integral part of the worship.
    • In their appeal, they said the animal sacrifice was an “essential religious practice” and the High Court had no power to interfere.

    Why animal sacrifice needs a rethink?

    • All religions call for compassion, no religion requires killing or eating animals and hacking animals to death with weapons.
    • The way executioners handle, transport and kill animals for sacrifices typically violates animal transport and slaughter laws, making it a punishable offence.
    • There exist ample ambiguities in religious texts over allowing the ritual slaughter of animals.
    • Moreover, the practice of animal sacrifice normalizes killing and desensitizes humans to violence against animals.

  • How the US’ Trinity Test led to the dawn of the atomic age?

    On this day, exactly 75 years ago, US scientists tested ‘Gadget’— the world’s first atomic bomb — in what was dubbed as the ‘Trinity Test’.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.What is the Manhattan Project? Describe its consequences on the post-world war scenario.

    The Trinity Test

    • The super bomb, nicknamed ‘Gadget’, was built by a team of scientists at a top-secret site in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
    • It was developed as part of the US-led Manhattan Project, which sought to build nuclear weapons to give the allied forces an edge over Germany, Japan and Italy in World War 2.
    • Very soon after the Trinity test, an identical nuclear bomb called ‘Fat Man’ was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands of people.
    • Before it detonated, the scientists had placed bets on what could happen. Some believed that the bomb would be a dud and would fail to explode.

    What was the Manhattan Project?

    • Germany initiated World War II by invading Poland.
    • A letter signed by Nobel prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein warned then-US President Franklin D Roosevelt of the potential threat posed by an atomic weapon being developed by Adolf Hitler.
    • Soon after, the US launched a secret atomic research undertaking, code-named the Manhattan Project, which sought to develop an atomic weapon to end the war.

    Execution of the project

    • The Project remained a relatively small-scale initiative for the next two years.
    • It was only after the bombing of Pearl Harbour the project was officially kicked into gear.
    • By December 1942 facilities were established in remote locations across the US, as well as in Canada.
    • However, the superbomb was finally designed and conceptualized by a team of scientists at a top-secret laboratory in Los Alamos.
    • The Los Alamos team developed two types of bombs — one was uranium-based, which was later code-named ‘the Little Boy’ before it was dropped on Hiroshima; the other had a plutonium core.

    Looping-in nuclear physicists

    • The project brought together some of the country’s leading atomic experts as well as exiled scientists and physicists from Germany and other Nazi-occupied nations.
    • The team at Los Alamos was headed by J Robert Oppenheimer, a physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
    • Oppenheimer later came to be known as the “father of the atomic bomb”.
    • His team included famous Danish scientist Niels Bohr and Italian scientists Enrico Fermi.

    What were the repercussions of the Trinity Test?

    • New Mexico residents were pointedly not warned before the test, to ensure that it was carried out secretly.
    • Data collected by the New Mexico health department, which showed the adverse impact of radiation caused by the detonation, was ignored for years after the test.
    • A sudden rise in infant mortality was reported in the months after the explosion. Several residents also complained that the number of cancer patients went up after the Trinity Test.
    • The dust outfall from the explosion was expected to have travelled nearly 100 miles from the test site, posing a serious threat to residents in the area.
    • Many families complained that their livestock suffered skin burns, bleeding and loss of hair.

    Impact of bombing on Japan

    • The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings are known to have killed well over 200,000 people — many of whom succumbed to radiation poisoning in the weeks after the blasts.
    • The uranium bomb in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, destroyed around 70 per cent of all buildings and caused around 140,000 deaths by the end of 1945.
    • The plutonium bomb explosion over Nagasaki, which took place three days later, killed 74,000 people that year, according to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW) data.
    • After seeing the destruction caused to the two Japanese cities, Oppenheimer publicly admitted that he regretted building a bomb that could cause an apocalypse.

    Nuclearisation of the world thus began

    • Seventy-five years after the Trinity Test, as many as nine countries around the world are currently in possession of nuclear weapons.
    • These include the US, the UK, Russia, France, India, China, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea.
    • At least eight countries have detonated over 2,000 nuclear test explosions since 1945.
    • The most recent instance of nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India, were the series of five explosions done as part of the Pokhran-II tests in May 1998.
    • The first test, code-named Smiling Buddha, took place in May 1974.

  • [pib] NISHTHA Programme

    The first on-line NISHTHA programme for 1200 Key Resources Persons in Andhra Pradesh was launched by Union HRD Ministry.

    There are various web/portals/apps with peculiar names such as YUKTI, DISHA, SWAYAM etc. Their core purpose is similar with slight differences. Pen them down on a separate sheet under the title various digital HRD initiatives.

     

    Add one more to this list.

    NISHTHA Programme

    • NISHTHA is an acronym for National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement.
    • It is the largest teachers’ training programme of its kind in the world.
    • The basic objective of this massive training programme ‘NISHTHA’ is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.
    • The initiative is first of its kind wherein standardized training modules are developed at national level for all States and UTs.
    • The States and UTs can also contextualize the training modules and use their own material and resource persons also, keeping in view the core topics and expected outcomes of NISHTHA.

    Progress till date

    • Around 23,000 Key Resource Persons and 17.5 lakh teachers and school heads have been covered under this NISHTHA face to face mode till date.
    • It has been customized for online mode to be conducted through DIKSHA and NISHTHA portals by the NCERT.

  • What is Non-Personal Data?

    A government committee headed by Infosys co-founder has suggested that non-personal data generated in the country be allowed to be harnessed by various domestic companies and entities.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.What is Non-Personal Data? Discuss its utility and various privacy concerns associated with it.

    What is non-personal data?

    • In its most basic form, non-personal data is any set of data which does not contain personally identifiable information.
    • This, in essence, means that no individual or living person can be identified by looking at such data.
    • For example, while order details collected by a food delivery service will become non-personal data if the identifiers such as name and contact information are taken out.
    • The government committee, which submitted its report, has classified non-personal data into three main categories, namely public non-personal data, community non-personal data and private non-personal data.

    Types of non-personal data

    Depending on the source of the data and whether it is anonymised in a way that no individual can be re-identified from the data set, the three categories have been divided:

    1) Public

    All the data collected by government and its agencies such as census, data collected by municipal corporations on the total tax receipts in a particular period or any information collected during execution of all publicly funded works have been kept under the umbrella of public non-personal data.

    2) Community

    Any data identifiers about a set of people who have the same geographic location, religion, job, or other common social interests will form the community non-personal data. For example, the metadata collected by ride-hailing apps, telecom companies, electricity distribution companies among others have been put under the community non-personal data category by the committee.

    3) Private

    Private non-personal data can be defined as those which are produced by individuals which can be derived from the application of proprietary software or knowledge.

    How sensitive can non-personal data be?

    • Unlike personal data, which contains explicit information about a person’s name, age, gender, sexual orientation, biometrics and other genetic details, non-personal data is more likely to be in an anonymised form.
    • However, in certain categories such as data related to national security or strategic interests such as locations of government laboratories or research facilities, even if provided in anonymised form can be dangerous.
    • Similarly, even if the data is about the health of a community or a group of communities, though it may be in anonymised form, it can still be dangerous, the committee opined.
    • Possibilities of such harm are obviously much higher if the original personal data is of a sensitive nature.
    • Therefore, the non-personal data arising from such sensitive personal data may be considered as sensitive non-personal data.

    What are the global standards on non-personal data?

    • In May 2019, the EU came out with a regulatory framework for the free flow of non-personal data.
    • It suggested that member states of the union would cooperate with each other when it came to data sharing.
    • Such data, the EU had then ruled would be shared by member states without any hindrances.
    • The authorities must inform the commission of any draft act which introduces a new data localisation requirement or makes changes to an existing data localisation requirement.
    • The regulation, however, had not defined what non-personal data constituted of and had simply said all data which is not personal would be under its category.

    What areas does India’s non-personal data draft miss?

    • Though the non-personal data draft is a pioneer in identifying the power, role, and usage of anonymised data, there are certain aspects such as community non-personal data, where the draft could have been clearer.
    • Non-personal data often constitute protected trade secrets and often raises significant privacy concerns.
    • The paper proposes the nebulous concept of community data while failing to adequately provide for community rights.
    • Other experts also believe that the final draft of the non-personal data governance framework must clearly define the roles for all participants, such as the data principal, the data custodian, and data trustees.

    Conclusion

    • Regulation must be clear, and concise to provide certainty to its market participants, and must demarcate the roles and responsibilities of participants in the regulatory framework.
    • The report is unclear on these counts and requires public consultation and more deliberation.

  • Lancet’s analysis of population trends for 2017-2100

    When this century ends, India may no longer be a country of a billion, says a projection that appears in the online edition of the Lancet. The reference forecasts for China and India peaked before 2050 and both countries thereafter had steep declining trajectories.

    Try this question from CSP 2011:

    Q.India is regarded as a country with ‘Demographic Dividend’. This is due to

    (a) Its high population in the age group below 15 years

    (b) Its high population in the age group of 15-64 years

    (c) Its high population in the age group above 65 years

    (d) Its high total population

    World to see the peak

    • A new analysis published in The Lancet has projected that the world population will peak much earlier than previously estimated.
    • It projects the peak at 9.73 billion in 2064, which is 36 years earlier than the 11 billion peaks projected for 2100 by last year’s UN report World Population Prospects.
    • For 2100, the new report projects a decline to 8.79 billion from the 2064 peak.

    5 most populated countries

    • The five largest countries in 2100 are projected to be India, Nigeria, China, the U.S. and Pakistan.
    • However, these forecasts showed different future trajectories between countries.
    • Nigeria is forecast to have continued population growth through 2100 and was expected to be the second-most populous country by then.

    Predictions on India’s population

    • For India, the report projects a peak population of 1.6 billion in 2048, up from 1.38 billion in 2017.
    • By 2100, the population is projected to decline by 32% to 1.09 billion.
    • However, meeting UN Sustainable Goal Development targets, the peak would be earlier and see a population decline to 929 million.
    • Conventional wisdom is that though a decline in population is expected, it is expected to begin only around 2046.
    • The fall according to the latest 2019 assessment by the UNDP calculation, is expected to see India’s population settle at a little over 1.4 billion.

    Reasons for fall

    • The sharper fall is due to the assumption that all women globally will have much higher access to contraception and education.
    • This scenario will lead to a sharper reduction in the Total Fertility Rate, a metric that shows on average how many children a woman must have to keep replenishing the population.
    • A TFR is lower than 2.1leads to a decline in a country’s population.

  • No medical examination for Trans Persons

    After facing flak from the transgender community, the Centre has done away with the requirement of a medical examination for trans persons applying for a certificate of identity in its latest draft rules framed under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.What are the salient features of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019? Also, discuss the loopholes.

    What are the new rules?

    • The draft of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020, published stated that a District Magistrate would issue a transgender identity certificate and card based on an affidavit by the applicant, but without any medical examination.

    Issue with the earlier draft

    • An earlier draft of the rules had mandated a report from a psychologist along with the affidavit for the application.
    • The transgender rights movement had opposed this, as it was seen as going against a trans person’s right to self-identification, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2014.

    Change of gender is permissible

    • In case of change of gender, the application for new identification would require a certificate from the medical superintendent or chief medical officer of the medical institution where the applicant the surgery.
    • For this, the Centre has proposed a series of welfare schemes, including making at least one hospital in each State equipped to provide safe and free gender-affirming surgery and counselling and hormone replacement therapy among others.

    Back2Basics: The 2014 Judgement on Trans-persons Rights

    • The Supreme Court in 2014 recognized transgenders as the third gender in a landmark ruling, saying it was addressing a “human rights issue”.
    • The ruling came after it heard a PIL filed by National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa) demanding equal rights.
    • The judgements said that non-recognition of gender identity amounts to discrimination under Article 15, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.
    • The spirit of the constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste, religion or gender said justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri in their ruling.
    • Self-identification as man or woman, irrespective of sexual reassignment surgery, was now protected by law.
    • The judges said rights such as the right to vote, own property, marry and to “claim a formal identity” would be made available “more meaningfully” to the transgender community as a result of the ruling.

    Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019

    The Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019.

    Key Features

    • Definition of a transgender person: The Bill defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth. It includes transmen and trans-women, persons with intersex variations, gender-queers, and persons with socio-cultural identities, such as kinnar and hijra.
    • Certificate of identity: A transgender person may make an application to the District Magistrate for a certificate of identity, indicating the gender as ‘transgender’.
    • Prohibition against discrimination: The Bill prohibits discrimination against a transgender person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to:
      • Education, employment, healthcare.
      • Access to or enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public.
      • Right to movement, right to reside, rent, or otherwise occupy property.
      • Opportunity to hold public or private office.
      • Access to a government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person is.
    • Health care
      • The Bill also seeks to provide rights of health facilities to transgender persons including separate HIV surveillance centres, and sex reassignment surgeries.
      • It also states that the government shall review medical curriculum to address health issues of transgender persons, and provide comprehensive medical insurance schemes for them.
    • It calls for establishing a National Council for Transgender persons (NCT).
    • Punishment: It states that the offences against transgender persons will attract imprisonment between six months and two years, in addition to a fine.

  • Hope:  UAE’s first mission to Mars

    The launch of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) first mission to Mars has been delayed by two days due to bad weather conditions which were scheduled to take off from its launch site, Tanegashima Space Center, in Japan.

    Try this question from CSP 2014:

    Q.Which of the following pair is/are correctly matched?

    Spacecraft Purpose
    1. Cassini-Huygens Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth
    2. Messenger Mapping and investigating the Mercury
    3. Voyager 1 and 2 Exploring the outer solar system

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 and 3 only

    c) 1 and 3 only

    d) 1, 2 and 3

    Hope Mission

    • The Emirates Mars Mission called “Hope” was announced in 2015 with the aim of creating mankind’s first integrated model of the Red planet’s atmosphere.
    • Hope weighs over 1500 kg and will carry scientific instruments mounted on one side of the spacecraft, including the Emirates exploration Imager (EXI), which is a high-resolution camera among others.
    • The spacecraft will orbit Mars to study the Martian atmosphere and its interaction with outer space and solar winds.
    • Hope will collect data on Martian climate dynamics, which should help scientists understand why Mars’ atmosphere is decaying into space.

    Objectives of the mission

    • Once it launches, Hope will orbit Mars for around 200 days, after which it will enter the Red planet’s orbit by 2021, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the founding of UAE.
    • The mission is being executed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, UAE’s space agency.
    • It will help answer key questions about the global Martian atmosphere and the loss of hydrogen and oxygen gases into space over the span of one Martian year.

    Back2Basics: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

    • The MOM also called Mangalyaan is a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
    • It aims at studying the Martian surface and mineral composition as well as scans its atmosphere for methane (an indicator of life on Mars).
    • It is India’s first interplanetary mission and it made it the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
    • It made India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
    • It was initially meant to last six months, but subsequently, ISRO had said it had enough fuel for it to last “many years.”