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GS Paper: GS3-15.Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life.

  • An Indian Pioneer of ORT

    ORT

    Context

    • In the demise of Dilip Mahalabnis on October 16 we lost a pioneering public health physician the ORS pioneer who helped save millions of lives. In 1978, a Lancet editorial termed ORS the most important medical advance in this century.

    Background

    • ORT was first introduced worldwide in the 1970s to treat millions of children suffering from severe dehydration in crisis-stricken and impoverished areas. At the time, the world’s leading general medical journal The Lancet called ORT “potentially the most important medical advance since penicillin.”
    • A Lancet editorial in 1978 termed it “potentially the most important medical advance this century”.

    Interesting story of Dilip Mahalabnis and invention of ORT

    • Mahalanabis was trained as a paediatrician and joined the Cholera Research Programme of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Medical Research and Training (JHCMRT) in Calcutta in 1966.
    • His team was treating cases of the cholera epidemic in a camp in Bangaon, West Bengal that housed 3,50,000 refugees but ran out of intravenous fluids. He thought that it would be opportune to use ORS. As no ORS packets were available, they mixed salt and sugar solution (ORS) in drums and administered it to the cholera patients in the camps.
    • The library of the JHCMRT was converted into a factory. This was not a mandated mode of treatment and at great personal risk, Mahalanabis chose to respond to the humanitarian crisis in this manner.
    • It was evident in two to three weeks’ time that not only was the therapy working but that it was possible to administer ORT through volunteers (in the absence of a sufficient number of trained workers).
    • It was subsequently analyzed that ORS reduced mortality due to cholera or acute diarrhoeal diseases in these camps from 40 per cent to 5 per cent. They coined the term “oral saline” and rest is the story.

    ORT

    What is Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT)?

    • A fluid to correct dehydration: Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) entails drinking water with modest amounts of sugar and salts, specifically sodium and potassium to correct dehydration due to fluid losses from diarrhoea.
    • ORT ingredients: ORT combines three ingredients such as salts, sugars and water to quickly reverse the signs of dehydration. Through the process of osmosis, the salts and sugars pull water into your bloodstream and speed up rehydration.
    • Essential electrolytes which replenish Blood: ORT also replenishes your blood with essential electrolytes (minerals) that are lost due to intense exercise, exposure to extreme weather conditions, or diarrhea and other illnesses. Water doesn’t contain electrolytes and so, ironically, water alone cannot cure dehydration like ORT.
    • An effective electrolyte: Administration of fluids through the intravenous route used to be the mainstay of management of cholera till the results of a study demonstrated that an oral solution of glucose and electrolytes was effective for replacing water and electrolyte losses.
    • Quick and efficient: The translation of the basic science concept to quick and efficient practice was, however, not easy. And that is the fascinating story and sterling contribution of Mahalanabis and his co-workers on ORT.

    What is Dehydration?

    • Dehydration occurs when you use or lose more fluid than you take in, and your body doesn’t have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. If you don’t replace lost fluids, you will get dehydrated.

    ORT

    What is Disease Cholera?

    • Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae that can kill within hours if left untreated.
    • Most of those infected will have no or mild symptoms and can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution. Cholera affects both children and adults.
    • Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical to prevent and control the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
    • Cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development.

    Recent outbreak of cholera In India

    • Cholera is said to be endemic in India. However, the reported cases in India tend to be much lesser than the actual numbers, say doctors and experts.
    • The number of cases is rising in India because we still lack the basic sanitation, hygiene and access to clean water in many communities,
    • The country reports nearly 20,000 to 30,000 cases of cholera every year, usually during the monsoon season of July to September.
    • Climate change adds up another layer to the cholera outbreak.

    Contribution of ORT to the world.

    • As a perfect alternative over the prevailing doctrine: ORT was in marked contrast to the then prevailing doctrine of patients being given only sips of water without food, euphemistically called “resting the stomach”, often worsening the underlying malnutrition.
    • For Diarrhoea: An estimated 54 million diarrhoeal deaths were averted by ORT alone between 1978 and 2008, such was the magnitude of its beneficial impacts. ORT for the management of severe diarrhea was developed in the latter half 1960s. WHO launched a worldwide campaign in 1978 to reduce mortality related to diarrhea, with ORT as one of the key elements.
    • For cholera: Administration of fluids through the intravenous route used to be the mainstay of management of cholera till the results of a study demonstrated that an oral solution of glucose and electrolytes was effective for replacing water and electrolyte losses
    • Cholera pandemic: This period coincided with the seventh cholera pandemic (El Tor biotype) that started in Indonesia in 1961 and spread to East Pakistan (Bangladesh) by 1963 and to India in 1964. Though experiments with ORS were underway, the WHO responded in 1970 by distributing large amounts of intravenous fluids – a move marked by high transportation costs and limited utilization on account of a shortage of a trained health workforce. The focus of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), through the Cholera Research Laboratory in Dhaka, was to find a vaccine to protect the US troops from cholera attacks in Southeast Asia.
    • One solution for everyone: Athletes; people with illnesses, especially babies and toddlers; seniors; military personnel stationed in extreme climates; air travelers who lose electrolytes every time they fly: They all stand to dramatically improve their health and well-being with ORT.

    ORT

    Conclusion

    • Dilip Mahalanabis pioneered a simple and effective solution for diarrhoea that saves millions of lives which can be considered as one of the greatest contributions of Indian in medical sciences. To carry the carry legacy forward young scientists should step in.

    Mains Question

    Q. What do you Understand by Oral Rehydration Therapy? How it could be effective in tackling the yearly outbreaks of Cholera in India and the world. Discuss.

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  • Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022

    The Lok Sabha deferred the consideration and passing of the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 as the Opposition benches were empty due to the ongoing protests outside of Parliament.

    Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022

    Aims and objectives:

    • To provide for national measures to protect the Antarctic environment and associated ecosystems and to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty
    • To provide a harmonious policy framework for India’s Antarctic activities through a well-established legal mechanism
    • Facilitate activities of the Indian Antarctic programme, including management of Antarctic tourism and sustainable development of fisheries
    • To prohibit carrying of certain activities without a permit or the written authorisation of another party to the protocol
    • To provide for inspection in India by an officer designated by the Central government as an Inspector and to constitute an inspection team to carry out inspections in Antarctica
    • To prohibit drilling, dredging, excavation or collection of mineral resources or even doing anything to identify where such mineral deposits occur.

    Key feature: Committee on Antarctic governance

    • It will empower the government to establish a committee on Antarctic governance and environmental protection to monitor, implement and ensure compliance with the relevant international laws, emissions standards and rules of protection.
    • The panel is to be headed by the secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, as ex officio chairperson.
    • Among other roles, he/she has also been the vice-president of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Science Council since 2018.
    • The committee will have ten members from various ministries, departments and organizations of the Union government, plus two experts on the Antarctic environment or other relevant areas.

    Prohibited activities

    The Bill prohibits certain activities in Antarctica including:

    • Nuclear explosion or disposal of radioactive wastes,
    • Introduction of non-sterile soil, and
    • Discharge of garbage, plastic or other substance into the sea which is harmful to the marine environment

    About Antarctica Treaty

    • Antarctica has a geographical area of 14 million sq. km and has had no indigenous population (i.e. “Antarcticans” don’t exist).
    • However, a few thousand people reside there, in some 40 research stations spread across the continent, throughout the year.
    • In 1959, 12 countries – Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the UK and the US signed the Antarctic Treaty.
    • Their aim was to prevent the continent from being militarised and to establish it as a center of peaceful activities.
    • Later, more countries, including India, have become party to the treaty, and today it counts more than 54 members.

    Significance of the treaty

    • The treaty requires each party to take appropriate measures within its competence, including the adoption of laws and regulations, administrative actions, and enforcement measures, to ensure compliance with the protocol.
    • Countries also signed the ‘Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty in 1991, which designates Antarctica as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”.

    Need for the Antarctic Legislation

    • The growing presence of Indian scientists in Antarctica and the commitment to Antarctic research and protection prompted the government to adopt domestic legislation consistent with its obligations as a member of the Antarctic Treaty system.
    • These laws will enable India’s courts to deal with disputes or crimes committed in parts of Antarctica, and help build credibility vis-à-vis India’s participation.

     

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  • EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Law

    The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) law of European Parliament is the first comprehensive regulation for cryptos, and some expect it to become a trendsetter for crypto regulation globally.

    What is MiCA Legislation?

    • The MiCA law seeks to address concerns like money-laundering, protection of consumers and investors, accountability of crypto firms, stablecoins and the environmental footprint of crypto mining.
    • It would regulate the “wild west” of crypto assets and provide legal certainty for those issuing crypto assets, while ensuring high standards for investors and consumers.
    • It also excludes non-fungible tokens, but the EU may make a horizontal legislation for NFTs in 18 months, after a separate assessment.

    How will MiCA regulate stablecoins?

    • The efficacy of stablecoins, which claim to be less volatile that other cryptos, came into question after the crash of some crypto-currencies.
    • The MiCA would mandate that stablecoin issuers maintain minimum liquidity to provide for sudden large withdrawals by users, and the reserves must also be protected from insolvency.
    • The European Banking Authority (EBA) has been brought in to supervise stablecoins, and the law asks stablecoin issuers to provide claims to investors free of charge.
    • In addition, large coins which are used as a means of payment will be capped at €200 million worth of transactions per day.

    How will the new law regulate money laundering?

    • MiCA requires the EBA to maintain a public register of non-compliant crypto asset service providers (CASPs).
    • Additional checks will be required, in line with the EU Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) framework.

    How does it address green concerns?

    • Under MiCA, crypto companies will be required to declare their environmental and climate footprint.
    • The European Securities and Markets Authority will develop regulatory technical standards on methodologies, content and presentation of such information.
    • The EC will also have to provide a report on the impact of crypto assets on environment.
    • It would introduce mandatory minimum sustainability standards for mining mechanisms, especially the proof-of-work system which raises overall computing power.

    Will it affect Indian regulations?

    • India’s crypto regulations seem to have taken a back seat at the moment.
    • Industry executives and experts say the government and industry are more concerned about taxation.
    • India levied a 30% tax on income from transfer of cryptos from April, and added a 1% tax deduction at source from 1 July.
    • This, along with the overall bear market, has depressed trading volumes, and revenues of crypto exchanges.
    • Indian regulators are also expected to consider rules being developed in the US before taking concrete decisions.

    Back2Basics: Stablecoins

    • Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies where the price is designed to be pegged to a cryptocurrency, fiat money, or to exchange-traded commodities (such as precious metals or industrial metals).
    • Advantages of asset-backed cryptocurrencies are that coins are stabilized by assets that fluctuate outside of the cryptocurrency space, that is, the underlying asset is not correlated, reducing financial risk.
    • Bitcoin and altcoins are highly correlated, so that cryptocurrency holders cannot escape widespread price falls without exiting the market or taking refuge in asset backed stablecoins.
    • Furthermore, such coins, assuming they are managed in good faith, and have a mechanism for redeeming the asset(s) backing them, are unlikely to drop below the value of the underlying physical asset, due to arbitrage.

     

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  • Norms eased for GM Crop Research

    The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has issued guidelines easing norms for research into genetically modified (GM) crops and circumventing challenges of using foreign genes to change crops profile.

    Guidelines for Safety Assessment of Genome Edited Plants, 2022: Key Highlights

    • It exempt researchers who use gene-editing technology to modify the genome of the plant from seeking approvals from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
    • The environment ministry in March 2022 exempted SDN 1 and SDN 2 genomes from Rules 7-11 of the Environment Protection Act.
    • Conventional breeding technique takes 8- 10 years for development of new crop varieties; genome-editing can do this faster.
    • The Environment Ministry too has sanctioned this exemption.

    What are the SDNs?

    The genome edited plants derived from the use of genome editing techniques employing site- directed nucleases (SDNs) such ZFNs, TALENs, CRISPR and other nucleases with similar functions are generally classified under three categories as

    1. Site-Directed Nuclease (SDN)-1, a site-directed mutagenesis without using a DNA sequence template;
    2. SDN-2, a site-directed mutagenesis using a DNA sequence template; and
    3. SDN-3, site-directed insertion of gene/large DNA sequence using a DNA sequence template.

    What are GM crops?

    • The GM plants involve transgenic technology or introducing a gene from a different species into a plant, for instance BT-cotton, where a gene from soil bacterium is used to protect a plant from pest attack.
    • The worry around this method is that these genes may spread to neighboring plants, where such effects are not intended and so their applications have been controversial.
    • Genome editing involves the use of technologies that allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome. Several approaches to genome editing have been developed.
    • A well-known one is called CRISPR-Cas9, which is short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is constituted under the:

    (a) Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

    (b) Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999

    (c) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

    (d) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”af42wsrckz” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    About Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

    • The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is a statutory body conotified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
    • It was formed as the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee and was renamed to its current name in 2010.
    • It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change.
    • The body regulates the use, manufacture, storage, import and export of hazardous microorganisms or genetically-engineered organisms and cells in India.

     

     

  • Beyond the hype of blockchain, a look at its reality

    Context

    Blockchain is a fascinating data structure that generates great curiosity. However, there is a lot of hype around the concept and its adoption in diverse fields seems to be faith-based, driven by unsubstantiated vendor and consultant claims.

    Two main functional properties of blockchain

    • A blockchain is a sequential append-only public bulletin board of transaction records with two main functional properties. 
    • 1] Verification by peers: What can get added is reconciled by multiple participating  peers following a pre-decided consensus protocol.
    • This process cannot be gamed under the assumption that a majority of the unrestricted number of peers are honest.
    • 2] Immutable record: recryptographically ensured that it  cannot be altered.
    • Each participating peer normally has their own copy of the entire bulletin board, with identical content, and they can read and further copy at will.

    Applications and their limits

    • Private blockchain: A “permissioned” or private blockchain has only pre-identified participating peers.
    • Hence, collusion is possible and integrity can only be ensured through regulations.
    • Without political decentralisation, consensus does not imply safety, and this is no different from centralisation in its threat model.
    • Privacy concern is not addressed: Despite many claims to the contrary, the blockchain structure has nothing to do with the highly-nuanced notion of privacy, or even the limited secrecy aspect of it.
    • To ensure secrecy of the bulletin board records, one has to fall back on traditional and well-established notions from cryptography — like encryption, key management and zero-knowledge proofs.
    • “Consensus” is inapplicable when there is only one authority responsible for the integrity of the transactions, for example, the Election Commission of India when a vote is cast in the privacy of a polling booth or a person is added or removed from a voters’ list.
    • Issues with use for voting purpose: Also, voting is not the only example of the inadequate analysis of the applicability of blockchain, and there are proposals for using them for land records, asset registers, etc.
    • Most such proposals do not pass muster for reasons similar to voting.
    • The role of blockchain in RBI’s digital currency proposal is similarly doubtful, and convincing methods independent of “consensus” need to be developed to ensure the correctness and verifiability of transactions while protecting user privacy.

    Issues with application for cyrptocurrencies

    • Macroeconomic implications not clear: Currency properties and monetary policies have evolved over thousands of years of bartering, and it is not clear that cryptocurrencies are consistent with them or that the larger macroeconomic implications of cryptocurrencies are well understood.
    • Crypto assets derive their values from their potential to be exchanged for other currencies.
    • Uncertain price determination: Since only a limited set of commodities are traded with crypto assets,  their price determinations with respect to sovereign fiat currencies are uncertain.
    • Potential to increase inequality: Apart from the crucial price stabilisation issues, their potential to further inequality is also considerable.
    • Environmental impact: The total carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies is equivalent to that of a few megacities, and it does seem ungainly, energy-inefficient and unsustainable to mine assets this way.

    Way forward

    • What may help in many of these applications is just the immutable public bulletin board part of a blockchain, with or without encryption and zero-knowledge proofs.
    • This may be simply achieved by the concerned authority periodically publishing the bulletin board in a publicly downloadable forum, and using hash chains verifiable by all to make alterations impossible.
    • Given the carbon footprint associated with cryptocurrencies, it requires regulation and taxation, especially for the potential environmental impacts and because only a few participate.

    Consider the question “What is blockchain technology? What are its potential applications and concerns with these applications?” 

    Conclusion

    Blockchain is certainly an elegant concept whose properties and potential require careful research. The hype of treating them as solutions for everything with not-so-thoughtful use cases is perhaps techno-determinism at its worst.

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  • What are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)?

    A French luxury fashion brand is suing American digital artist who created a series of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), a rapidly growing part of the cryptoworld.

    Non-Fungible Tokens

    • An NFT is a unique, irreplaceable token that can be used to prove ownership of digital assets such as music, artwork, even tweets and memes.
    • The term ‘non-fungible’ simply means that each token is different as opposed to a fungible currency such as money (a ten-rupee note can be exchanged for another and so on).
    • Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are also fungible, which means that one Bitcoin can be exchanged for another.
    • But an NFT cannot be exchanged for another NFT because the two are different and therefore unique.
    • Each token has a different value, depending on which asset it represents.

    How does NFT transaction take place?

    • NFT transactions are recorded on blockchains, which is a digital public ledger, with most NFTs being a part of the Ethereum blockchain.
    • NFTs became popular in 2021, when they were beginning to be seen by artists as a convenient way to monetize their work.

    Why are they in high demand?

    • One of the other attractions is that NFTs are a part of a new kind of financial system called decentralized finance (DeFi), which does away with the involvement of institutions such as banks.
    • For this reason, decentralized finance is seen as a more democratic financial system because it makes access to capital easier for lay people by essentially eliminating the role of banks and other associated institutions.
    • Even so, because NFTs operate in a decentralized system, any person can sell a digital asset as one.
    • This can sometimes create problems. For instance, if you were to sell someone else’s artwork as an NFT, you could essentially be infringing on a copyright.

     

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  • Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)

    In Chile’s dry Atacama Desert, stargazers are scanning the clear night skies to detect the existence of life on other planets and study so-called ‘dark energy’. Central to the race to peer into distant worlds is the GMT.

    Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)

    ⦁ The GMT is a ground-based extremely large telescope under construction.
    ⦁ It is US-led in partnership with Australia, Brazil, and South Korea, with Chile as the host country.
    ⦁ It will consist of seven 8.4 m (27.6 ft) diameter primary segments, that will observe optical and near infrared (320–25000 nm) light.
    ⦁ It will have the resolving power of a 24.5 m (80.4 ft) primary mirror and collecting area equivalent to a 22.0 m (72.2 ft) one which is about 368 square meters.
    ⦁ It is expected to have a resolving power 10 times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope.

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    Bakc2Basics: Hubble Space Telescope

    ⦁ The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation.
    ⦁ It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned both as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy.
    ⦁ It is said to be the “most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo’s telescope.
    ⦁ It captures images of deep space playing a major role in helping astronomers understand the universe by observing the most distant stars, galaxies and planets.

  • South Asia’s emerging digital transformation

    Context

    COVID-19 has forced South Asia to take a quantum leap in digitalisation, which will help shape its future prosperity.

    Spike in digitisation due to Covid

    • In India, COVID-19 accelerated the launch of the National Digital Health Mission, enhancing the accessibility and the efficiency of health-care services by creating a unique health ID for every citizen.
    • Pandemic accelerated South Asia’s embrace of e-commerce, boosted by digital payment systems.
    • Bangladesh alone witnessed an increase of 70-80% in online sales in 2020, generating $708.46 million in revenues.
    • Even smaller nations such as Nepal recording almost an 11% increase in broadband Internet users.

    The dangers of a digital divide

    • A wide digital divide persists in access and affordability, between and within the countries of South Asia.
    • Despite having the world’s second-largest online market, 50% of India’s population are without Internet with 59% for Bangladesh and 65% for Pakistan.
    • This divide could permanently put children out of school, place girls at risk of early marriage, and push poor children into child labour costing economies billions of dollars in future earnings.
    • Businesses too have paid a heavy price for the gap in digital solutions, whereby many South Asian firms failing to embrace e-commerce or other cloud-based technologies to survive the financial chaos of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

    Asian digitalisation

    • Digital transformation is a global imperative with the adoption of advanced technologies.
    • At the forefront of Asian digitalisation are countries such as Singapore, Japan, and South Korea recognised as global technological hubs.
    • The digital boom in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies is pushing a “common market” initiative, fostering regional economic integration and enhancing global competitiveness.
    • South Asia has also made significant strides in the adoption of digital technologies such as the Digital Bangladesh Vision 2021.

    How digitalisation can help South Asia?

    • The region still has a long way to go.
    • Jobs in e-commerce: E-commerce could drive the post-pandemic growth in South Asia, providing new business opportunities and access to larger markets.
    • In India, e-commerce could create a million jobs by 2030 and be worth $200 billion by 2026.
    • Growth driven by Fintech: Fintech could drive significant growth and reduce poverty by building financial inclusion.
    • Increase in productivity: A timely, inclusive, and sustainable digital transformation can not only bolster productivity and growth but also serve as a panacea for some of the region’s socio-economic divides.

    Steps need to be taken

    • To reap the dividends of digital transformation, South Asia needs to address legal, regulatory and policy gaps as well as boost digital skills.
    • Digital infrastructure: A robust digital infrastructure is a sine qua non and there exists a huge financing gap.
    • India alone needs an annual investment of $35 billion to be in the top five global digital economy.
    • Private-public partnership: Public-private partnership needs to be leveraged for the region’s digital infrastructure financing.
    • Regulatory roadblocks need to be addressed as e-commerce regulations are weak in South Asia.
    • Digital literacy: There would be no digital revolution without universal digital literacy.
    • Governments and businesses need to come together to revamp the education system to meet the demand for digital skills and online platforms.
    • Cybersecurity measures: The crossflow of data and personal information calls for stringent cybersecurity measures as many have experienced painful lessons in data privacy during the pandemic.
    • Digital Single Market Proposal: By addressing issues such as regulatory barriers on currency flows inhibiting online payment to transport-related constraints for cross-border e-commerce activities, South Asia can emulate the European Union’s Digital Single Market Proposal.
    • Collaboration: Concerted collaboration at all levels is needed to push South Asia out of stagnancy and towards a digital future of shared prosperity.
    • Partnership for digital revolution: During the pandemic, South Asian nations joined hands to collectively battle the crises by contributing towards a COVID-19 emergency fund, exchanging data and information on health surveillance, sharing research findings, and developing an online learning platform for health workers.
    • If the eight nations (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) can start walking the talk, partnership for a successful digital revolution is plausible.

    Conclusion

    A shared “digital vision” could place the region on the right track towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

  • The future of nuclear energy

    Context

    Bill Gates recently announced the decision to launch his own nuclear reactor with an eye on the possibility of exporting fast breeder reactors to power-hungry nations.

    About the Gates plan

    • TerraPower, the nuclear company founded by Mr. Gates, has just announced an agreement with private funders, including Warren Buffett, and the State of Wyoming, U.S. to site its Natrium fast reactor demonstration project there.
    • Moreover, since it falls within the “advanced” small modular reactor project of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Department will subsidise the project to the extent of $80 million this year.
    •  Mr. Gates believes that the fast breeder reactors will replace the current reactors.
    • The DOE and other nuclear enthusiasts also believe that small, factory-built, modular reactors will be cheaper and safer, and will be so attractive to foreign buyers.

    The impact of Fukushima Daiichi accident on nuclear power situation

    • The Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan on March 11, 2011 completely transformed the nuclear power situation.
    • Countries phased out nuclear power: As the global community turned its attention to strengthening nuclear safety, several countries opted to phase out nuclear power. 
    • The nuclear industry was at a standstill except in Russia, China and India.
    • Liability clause in India: Even in India, the expected installation of imported reactors did not materialise because of our liability law and the anti-nuclear protests in proposed locations.
    • India had to go in for more indigenous reactors to increase the nuclear component of its energy mix.

    Regaining place as a climate-friendly energy option

    • Two factors have contributed to the emergence of nuclear power as a climate-friendly energy option once again after the Fukushima Daiichi accident:-
    • 1) Intensive efforts to strengthen nuclear safety, and
    • 2) Threat of global warming is becoming ever more apparent.
    • Countries such as Japan and Germany reopened their reactors to produce energy.
    • Organisations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) recognise the ability of nuclear power to address major global challenges.

    Challenges ahead

    • Delay in adoption: Even as IPCC and IEA recognise the importance of nuclear power, it remains uncertain whether the value of this clean, reliable and sustainable source of energy will achieve its full potential any time soon.
    • Policy and financing framework issue: In some major markets, nuclear power lacks a favourable policy and financing framework that recognise its contributions to climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
    • Without such a framework, nuclear power will struggle to deliver on its full potential, even as the world remains as dependent on fossil fuels.

    Concerns with Gates plan

    • Proliferation risk: TerraPower announced in March that Natrium would be fuelled with uranium enriched to 20% U-235 rather than explosive plutonium.
    • The critics believe that there will be a rush to make 20% enriched uranium world wide.
    • The main objection to nuclear enrichment beyond a point in Iran arises from the fact that it would lead to weapon-grade uranium being available for them.
    • Facilitates the production of material used as nuclear explosives: The other objection being raised against is that the principal reason for preferring fast reactors is to gain the ability to breed plutonium.
    • That is surely what foreign customers will want.
    • The way it is configured, the reactor would make and reuse massive quantities of material that could also be used as nuclear explosives in warheads.
    • Focus on India and China: The opponents of TerraPower believe that India and China will be encouraged in their efforts to develop fast breeder reactors and may even want to buy them from Mr. Gates.
    • India’s fast breeder reactor, which is not subject to international inspections, is seen as capable of feeding the nuclear weapons capability of India.

    Conclusion

    With the threat of global warming due to climate change amplifying with each coming day, the world needs to take a serious relook at the adoption of nuclear technology.

    Back2Basics: What is a fast breeder reactor?

    • This special type of reactor is designed to extend the nuclear fuel supply for electric power generation.
    • Whereas a conventional nuclear reactor can use only the readily fissionable but more scarce isotope uranium-235 for fuel, a breeder reactor employs either uranium-238 or thorium, of which sizable quantities are available.
    • Uranium-238, for example, accounts for more than 99 percent of all naturally occurring uranium.
    • In breeders, approximately 70 percent of this isotope can be utilized for power production.
    • Conventional reactors, in contrast, can extract less than one percent of its energy.

    Natrium fast reactor demonstration project

    • Natrium nuclear power plants represent a significant advance over the light water reactor plants in use today.
    • The Natrium plant uses a sodium-cooled fast reactor as a heat source.
    • This heat from the reactor is carried by molten salt from inside the nuclear island to heat storage tanks outside the reactor building, where it is utilized as needed for generating electricity or industrial processes.
    • The net effect is that the overall plant can load follow, thus increasing the revenue and value of the plant while maintaining the optimum constant reactor power.
    • At the same time the cost of the overall plant is reduced since many of the systems outside of the nuclear island need not be nuclear safety grade.
    • The Natrium reactor enables these abilities because it operates in much higher temperature regimes than the light water reactor, thus pairing well to the temperature requirements of the molten salt heat transfer medium.

  • [pib] NAFED launches Fortified Rice Bran Oil

    The Department of Food and Public Distribution today E-launched “NAFED Fortified Rice Bran Oil”.

    Rice Bran Oil

    • Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice called chaff (rice husk).
    • It is known for its high smoke point of 232 °C (450 °F) and mild flavor, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir-frying and deep-frying.
    • It is popular as a cooking oil in the Indian subcontinent.
    • It has a composition similar to that of peanut oil, with 38% monounsaturated, 37% polyunsaturated, and 25% saturated fatty acids.
    • It is generally safe for consumption for most people when used in moderate amounts. However excessive usage of rice bran oil can lead to stomach discomfort.

    What is NAFED oil?

    • Rice Bran oil from NAFED will be fortified and it will be ensured that it will contain additional nutrients and vitamins.
    • This Rice bran oil will be marketed by NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd).
    • According to the FSSAI, fortified oil can help a person fulfill 25-30% of the recommended dietary intake for vitamins A and D.
    • NAFED Fortified Rice Bran Oil will be available at all NAFED Stores and also on various online platforms.

    Benefits of the NAFED oil

    • This initiative will significantly reduce the country’s consumption dependence on imported edible oil in the future.
    • This will provide opportunities for Indian edible oil manufacturers further, and also will give an impetus to the Aatmnirbhar Bharat initiative.
    • It will provide easy access to NAFED branded high-quality rice bran oil, which will also give a boost to the indigenous oil manufacturing industry.

    Health benefits of rice bran oil

    • Rice Bran oil has multiple health benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels due to its low trans-fat content and high monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat contents.
    • It also acts as a booster and reduces the risk of cancer due to the high amount of Vitamin E it contains.
    • This oil is recommended by The American Heart Association and the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the best substitutes for other edible oils.

    About NAFED

    • NAFED is an apex organization under the Ministry of Agriculture that deals with marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India.
    • It is registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act.
    • It was set up with the object to promote Cooperative marketing of agricultural produce to benefit the farmers.
    • Agricultural farmers are the main members of NAFED, who have the authority to say in the form of members of the General Body in the working of NAFED.