Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Landslide Atlas of Indi
Mains level: Heavt rain induced disasters
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently released the Landslide Atlas of India to identify landslide hotspots in the country.
What are Landslides?
- Landslides are natural disasters that occur in mountainous terrains where soil, rock, geology, and slope conditions are conducive.
- A landslide is the sudden movement of rock, boulders, earth, or debris down a slope.
- They can be triggered by natural causes such as heavy rainfall, earthquakes, snowmelting, and undercutting of slopes due to flooding.
- They are extremely hazardous, posing a threat to human and animal lives, damaging property, roads, and bridges, disrupting communication lines, and snapping power lines.
- Landslides are broadly classified based on the type of materials involved, the type of movement of the material, and the type of flow of the material.
Why do they occur?
- Landslides are natural disasters that occur mainly in mountainous terrains due to conducive conditions of soil, rock, geology, and slope.
- Heavy rainfall, earthquakes, snow-melting, and undercutting of slopes due to flooding can trigger landslides.
- Anthropogenic activities such as excavation, cutting of hills and trees, excessive infrastructure development, and overgrazing by cattle can also cause landslides.
Factors contributing
- The main factors that influence landslides include lithology, geological structures like faults, hill slopes, drainage, geomorphology, land use and land cover, soil texture and depth, and weathering of rocks.
- Rainfall variability pattern is the single biggest cause for landslides in India, with the Himalayas and the Western Ghats remaining highly vulnerable.
India’s vulnerability to landslides
- India is considered among the top five landslide-prone countries globally, where at least one death per 100 sq. km is reported in a year due to a landslide event.
- Approximately 12.6% of the country’s geographical land area (0.42 million sq km) is prone to landslides, with 66.5% of landslides reported from the North-western Himalayas, 18.8% from the North-eastern Himalayas, and 14.7% from the Western Ghats.
Risks in specific states
- Mizoram recorded the highest number of landslide events in the past 25 years, with 12,385 events, of which 8,926 were recorded in 2017 alone.
- Nagaland and Manipur also reported a high number of landslide events during the 2017 monsoon season.
- Uttarakhand and Kerala reported the highest number of landslides, with Uttarakhand experiencing 11,219 events since 1998, and Kerala making inhabitants significantly vulnerable to fatalities, despite fewer events.
Classification and Mapping of Landslides
- Landslides are broadly classified based on the type of materials involved, type of movement, type of flow of the material, and whether they spread laterally.
- The Landslide Atlas of India maps landslides mainly based on events and seasons.
- The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) used a landslide database created from 1998 to 2022 using aerial and high-resolution satellite images.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Megha Tropiques Satellite, Controlled re-entry
Mains level: Space junk clearing
ISRO attempted a controlled re-entry of the Megha Tropiques-1 satellite with leftover fuel to lower the orbit and reduce space debris.
Megha Tropiques Satellite
- The weather satellite Megha Tropiques-1 was developed as a joint mission by Indian and French space agencies.
- It was launched aboard a PSLV by the space agency in 2011.
- And, although the planned mission life of the satellite was only three years, it continued providing data on water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropics for nearly a decade.
How was the satellite brought down?
- With over 120kgs of fuel remaining in the satellite even after being decommissioned.
- ISRO determined that there was enough to attempt a controlled re-entry.
- When the satellites re-enter the atmosphere, the friction causes it to heat up to extreme high temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius.
- Without a heat shield, 99% of a satellite gets burnt up whether in a controlled re-entry or an uncontrolled one.
Significance of the move
- This was the first time that ISRO attempted such a manoeuvre to clear out space debris despite the satellite not being built to do so.
- Usually, satellites are left in their orbit and because of the gravitational pull of the earth, they come down to the atmosphere over years and years.
Why did ISRO attempt a controlled re-entry?
- ISRO attempted the control re-entry to demonstrate and understand the process of doing so.
- Keeping space clean is crucial with multiple spacefaring nations and private entities launching satellites.
- Thousands of objects are flying around in low earth orbits, including old satellites, parts, and rocket stages.
- Even small debris can destroy active satellites due to high speeds.
- Kessler syndrome is a scary scenario where space debris collisions create more debris.
What happens to satellites usually?
- A controlled re-entry like the one attempted by Isro earlier this week is possible only for satellites in the low-earth orbit – at about 1,000 kms over the surface of the earth.
- These manoeuvres, however, are not usually attempted because fuel reserves have to be maintained in the satellite after mission life is over.
- And, this is impossible for satellites placed in geo-stationary or geosynchronous orbit – where time taken by the satellite to orbit the earth matches Earth’s rotation.
- Such satellites are at altitudes of nearly 36,000 kms.
- For attempting to bring down a satellite from such as orbit, a huge fuel reserve would be needed. This will only make the satellite heavier and costlier at launch.
Also read-
[Sansad TV] Perspective: Cluttered Space
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IBEX
Mains level: Not much
NASA has announced that its Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft is fully operational after the mission team successfully reset it.
Edge of Solar System: Heliopause
The edge of the Solar System, also known as the heliopause, is the point where the solar wind from the Sun meets the interstellar medium. Here are some key points about the edge of the Solar System:
- The heliopause is the boundary where the Sun’s solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium.
- The Voyager 1 spacecraft crossed the heliopause in 2012, becoming the first man-made object to leave the Solar System.
- The exact location of the heliopause is not well defined and varies based on the strength of the solar wind and the density of the interstellar medium.
- The interstellar medium beyond the heliopause is composed of plasma, magnetic fields, and cosmic rays from other stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
- The edge of the Solar System is being studied by NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission, which is mapping the boundary region where the solar wind meets the interstellar medium.
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Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)
- IBEX is a small NASA spacecraft designed to map the boundary where winds from the Sun interact with winds from other stars.
- The spacecraft is about the size of a bus tire and its instruments look towards the interstellar boundary while it is on its nine-day orbit around our planet.
- It was launched in 2008 and has spent nearly 15 years in space already.
Purpose
- The purpose of IBEX is to study the interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium and to map the boundary of the solar system.
Technology
- IBEX uses two neutral atom imaging cameras to detect energetic neutral atoms that are created at the boundary of the heliosphere.
- The cameras are mounted on a spinning spacecraft, allowing them to scan the sky and build up a map of the boundary.
Discoveries
Since its launch, IBEX has made several important discoveries, including:
- The first direct measurements of the interstellar wind, which flows into the solar system from the direction of the constellation Scorpius.
- The discovery of a “ribbon” of energetic neutral atoms that stretches across the sky, which may be caused by the interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium.
Current Status
- IBEX is still in operation and continues to gather data about the interstellar boundary.
- Its mission has been extended several times, with the most recent extension running until 2023.
Significance
- IBEX’s findings have increased our understanding of the interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium.
- It has helped to refine models of the heliosphere and the solar system’s place in the galaxy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kodaikanal solar observatory
Mains level: NA
The Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KoSO) has been observing the Sun for over a century.
Why in news?
- Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KoSO) has been observing the Sun for over a century
- KoSO has captured images of sunspots and recorded changes in the Sun’s behavior
- Solar physicists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) have digitized 1.48 lakh solar images captured since 1904
A Brief History of Kodaikanal Solar Observatory
- KoSO is one of the world’s oldest observatories studying the Sun.
- Norman Pogson, astronomer and Government Astronomer of the Madras Observatory, proposed the idea of taking pictures of the Sun using a 20-inch telescope.
- The Madras Observatory was set up as the private effort of an official of the British East India Company in 1786.
- The decision to establish a solar observatory was taken in 1893, and Kodaikanal in present-day Tamil Nadu was chosen for its high altitude and dust-free environment.
- The Solar Physics Observatory opened on April 1, 1899, and was later named KoSO.
- The Bhavnagar Telescope, named after the Maharaja of Bhavnagar, was one of the more famous instruments at KoSO during the early decades of its operation.
- A 15cm telescope was used to capture solar images onto a photographic film or plate.
- Solar magnetic plages and prominences were recorded since 1911, taken on photographic films and plates.
Solar Observations, One Every Day: How They Are Taken
- White light images of the Sun have been captured every day since 1904 using a 6-inch telescope
- Visible light images reveal sunspots on the surface of the Sun.
- One image is taken daily around 8 am, which has been a fixed routine for over a century now
- Each observation accompanies the corresponding date and time, which is key for calibration purposes later.
- These plates or films are sent to the darkroom and developed either the same day or the next day
- Once the film has been developed, the date and time of observation are written on the plate and entered in the logbook.
- These plates or films are kept in an envelope with the handwritten date and time of observation and stored carefully in humidity-controlled rooms.
Arrival of New Technology and the Process of Digitization
- Between 1904 and 2017, all solar observations were traced onto photographic films and plates
- A new telescope mounted with CCD cameras has taken over and, since 2017, continued to observe the Sun.
- Digitization of the records was initiated in 1984 by Prof J C Bhattacharyya, and others continued the effort.
- In 2018, digitized solar observations for the period 1921-2011 were made available to the scientific community.
- Raw and calibrated data for the period of 1904 to 2017 were added, and the digitization process is nearly complete.
- KoSO is now home to a digital repository of a whopping 1.48 lakh solar images adding up to 10 terabyte of data.
- These include 33,500 white-light images (showing sunspots), 45,000 images of the Ca II K spectral line (which reveals plages), and 70,000 H-alpha photographic plates that show prominences.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yaoshang Festival
Mains level: NA
The Yaoshang festival, which is Manipur’s version of Holi, has begun.
Yaoshang Festival
- Yaoshang festival is celebrated every year on the full moon of Lamta (February-March) of the Meitei lunar calendar.
- It begins just after sunset followed by Yaosang Mei thaba, also known as Burning of the Straw Hut.
- Children visit neighbours to ask for monetary donations, called nakatheng.
- Yaoshang, unlike Holi, is celebrated with a traditional twist in Manipur.
- During these five days, Manipur comes alive with sporting events during the day and traditional “thabal chongba” dance in the night.
Key feature: Thabal Chongba Dance
- The thabal chongba is a traditional dance of the Meitei, where boys and girls gathered in an open ground and dance in a circle.
- But these days thabal chongba is performed throughout the month of Lamta.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Carbon capture and storage techniques
Mains level: Read the attached story
Central idea: India’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions and increase its carbon sink as part of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Agreement is a legally binding international treaty signed by 196 parties, including India, to limit global warming to well below 2°C.
What is a carbon sink?
- A carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
- It can be a natural ecosystem such as forests, oceans, or soil, or it can be an artificial system like carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
- Carbon sinks help to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and mitigate the negative effects of climate change.
Methods of Carbon Sinks
There are two types of carbon sinks:
(A) Natural Carbon Sinks: These are ecosystems that naturally absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere. The most common natural carbon sinks are:
- Forests: Trees absorb CO2 through photosynthesis and store it in their trunks, branches, and roots.
- Oceans: The Ocean absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, where it dissolves and forms carbonic acid.
- Soil: Carbon can be stored in soil in the form of organic matter, such as dead plant and animal material, which is broken down by microorganisms.
(B) Artificial Carbon Sinks: These are human-made technologies that capture and store carbon from the atmosphere. The most common artificial carbon sinks are:
- Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): CCS technology captures CO2 emissions from industrial processes, such as power plants, and stores it underground.
- Direct Air Capture (DAC): DAC technology captures CO2 directly from the air and stores it underground or repurposes it for other uses.
India’s carbon sink target
- India has pledged to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030.
- This will be achieved through afforestation, reforestation, and other land-use changes.
India’s progress towards its carbon sink target
- India has already achieved 24.6% of its carbon sink target as of 2017.
- This was primarily due to afforestation and tree plantation programs, such as the Green India Mission and the National Afforestation Programme.
Challenges in meeting India’s carbon sink target
- Unavailability of accurate data: There is a lack of accurate data on the extent and health of India’s forests, which makes it difficult to measure the effectiveness of afforestation and reforestation programs.
- Conversion of natural forests: The conversion of natural forests to monoculture plantations that have lower carbon sequestration potential can reduce the effectiveness of carbon sinks.
- Pressure on land: The pressure on land for agriculture and other forms of development can lead to deforestation and the loss of carbon sinks.
- Lack of funding: Afforestation and reforestation programs require significant funding, which can be a challenge for India.
- Lack of awareness: Lack of awareness among the public and policymakers about the importance of carbon sinks and the need for their conservation and restoration can hinder efforts to meet India’s carbon sink targets.
Conclusion
- India’s commitment to increasing its carbon sink is crucial in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
- More efforts are needed to ensure the success of afforestation and reforestation programs and to address the challenges facing India’s forests.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NISAR
Mains level: NA
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has received the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) satellite.
What is NISAR?
- NISAR has been built by space agencies of the US and India under a partnership agreement signed in 2014.
- The 2,800 kilograms satellite consists of both L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments, which makes it a dual-frequency imaging radar satellite.
- While NASA has provided the L-band radar, GPS, a high-capacity solid-state recorder to store data, and a payload data subsystem, ISRO has provided the S-band radar, the GSLV launch system and spacecraft.
- Another important component of the satellite is its large 39-foot stationary antenna reflector.
- Made of a gold-plated wire mesh, the reflector will be used to focus the radar signals emitted and received by the upward-facing feed on the instrument structure.
Objectives of NISAR
- Once launched into space, NISAR will observe subtle changes in Earth’s surfaces, helping researchers better understand the causes and consequences of such phenomena.
- It will spot warning signs of natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides.
- The satellite will also measure groundwater levels, track flow rates of glaciers and ice sheets, and monitor the planet’s forest and agricultural regions, which can improve our understanding of carbon exchange.
- By using synthetic aperture radar (SAR), NISAR will produce high-resolution images.
- SAR is capable of penetrating clouds and can collect data day and night regardless of the weather conditions.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lunar Time Zone
Mains level: NA
The European Space Agency is planning a universal timekeeping system for the moon.
Timekeeping on the Moon
- The Moon has its own day and night cycle, which lasts about 29.5 Earth days.
- This means that if humans were to live on the Moon, they would need to develop their own timekeeping system.
- Currently, the time on the Moon is measured using Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), which is the same timekeeping system used on the Earth.
- However, because the Moon’s day is much longer than Earth’s day, it would be difficult to use UTC for day-to-day activities on the Moon.
Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
- Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) is a time standard used to keep time consistent around the world.
- UTC is based on International Atomic Time (TAI), which is maintained by atomic clocks around the world.
- It is the primary time standard used by many countries, international organizations, and scientific research institutions.
- UTC is expressed as a 24-hour clock and is used to indicate the time offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+0).
- Time zones are defined as an offset from UTC, with some time zones being ahead of UTC (UTC+1, UTC+2, etc.) and others being behind UTC (UTC-1, UTC-2, etc.).
- UTC is adjusted periodically to account for changes in the Earth’s rotation, which can cause variations in the length of a day.
- These adjustments are made through the addition of leap seconds to UTC, which help to keep the time standard synchronized with the Earth’s rotation.
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Why need lunar time zone?
- The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite, and humans have been interested in exploring and colonizing it for many years.
- With recent advancements in space technology, there is renewed interest in lunar exploration and settlement.
Proposed Lunar Time Zone
- To address this issue, scientists and researchers have proposed creating a lunar time zone that would be based on the Moon’s day and night cycle.
- This would make it easier for lunar settlers to keep track of time and coordinate activities.
Benefits offered
- Having a lunar time zone would also make it easier for scientists and researchers to conduct experiments and collect data on the Moon.
- It would also help to prevent confusion and errors that could arise from using different timekeeping systems on Earth and the Moon.
Various challenges
- Time on Earth is precisely tracked by atomic clocks, but synchronizing time on the moon is tricky because clocks run faster there, gaining around 56 microseconds, or millionths of a second, per day.
- It would also be difficult to establish a consistent time zone for the entire Moon, given that the terrain and lighting conditions vary widely across its surface.
- Additionally, any timekeeping system on the Moon would need to be able to account for the Moon’s irregular rotation and movement.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Global Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure
Mains level: NA
Central idea: The article discusses the United Nations’ development of a new system for tracking greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse Gases
- Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect.
- Examples of greenhouse gases include-
- Water vapor (H2O)
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Methane (CH4)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O)
- Fluorinated gases, including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
- Ozone (O3)
- The greenhouse effect is a natural process that occurs when certain gases in the atmosphere absorb and re-emit infrared radiation from the sun, trapping heat and keeping the planet warm enough to sustain life.
- Human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes have significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to an enhanced greenhouse effect and causing global warming and climate change.
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Global Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure
- The new system, also known as the Common Global Standard for Sustainability, is being developed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- It will provide a standardized framework for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions across various sectors, including agriculture, transport, and energy.
Need for the new system
- The current system for tracking greenhouse gas emissions is fragmented and lacks standardization, making it difficult to compare emissions across different sectors and countries.
- The new system aims to address this issue by providing a standardized framework for measuring and reporting emissions.
Benefits offered
- The new system will provide a more accurate and comprehensive picture of greenhouse gas emissions across different sectors and countries.
- It will enable policymakers and businesses to develop more effective strategies for reducing emissions and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Challenges
- The success of the new system will depend on the willingness of countries and businesses to adopt and implement it.
- There may be resistance from some countries and businesses that are reluctant to disclose their emissions data or make changes to their current reporting practices.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: RTIS
Mains level: Not Much
The article discusses the partnership between Indian Railways and ISRO for real-time train tracking.
Real Time Train Information System (RTIS) Project
- Indian Railways has signed a MoU with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to use satellite-based technology for real-time train tracking.
- The technology will be used to provide real-time information on the exact location and movement of trains across the country.
How does it work?
- The system will use ISRO’s satellite-based GPS technology, called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), to track the location of trains.
- The system will also use other advanced technologies, such as satellite imagery and geo-fencing, to provide real-time information on train movements.
Applications of RTIS
- RTIS gives mid-section updates with a periodicity of 30 seconds.
- The Train Control can now track the location and speed of RTIS-enabled locomotives/train more closely, without any manual intervention.
- It allows passengers to get the real-time location or train running status of a train on their smartphone.
Benefits offered
- The system will help to improve the efficiency and safety of train operations in India.
- It will provide accurate and real-time information on train movements, which will help to reduce delays and improve scheduling.
- The system will also help to enhance the overall passenger experience by providing real-time information on train status and location.
Future plans
- Indian Railways plans to use the technology for other applications, such as monitoring the health of trains and their components.
- The partnership with ISRO is part of Indian Railways’ larger digital transformation initiative, which aims to leverage technology to improve the efficiency and safety of train operations.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA)
Mains level: NA
India has proposed to launch International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) to protect big cats and assured support over five years with guaranteed funding of $100 million.
International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA)
- It is a proposed mega-global alliance that will work toward the protection and conservation of the seven major big cats — tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar, and cheetah.
- Membership to the alliance will be open to 97 ‘range’ countries, which contain the natural habitat of these big cats, as well as other interested nations, international organizations, etc.
Proposed objectives
- The alliance’s purpose is to provide a platform for the dissemination of information on benchmarked practices, capacity building, resources repository, research and development, awareness creation, etc. on the protection and conservation of big cats.
- Its major activities will include advocacy, partnership, knowledge e-portal, capacity building, eco-tourism, partnerships between expert groups and finance tapping.
Financial outlay
- After the first five years, IBCA will be supported by India’s ‘total grant assistance’ of $100 million.
- It is expected to sustain itself through membership fees, and contributions from bilateral and multilateral institutions and the private sector
Governance Structure
- A General Assembly consisting of all member countries.
- A Council of at least seven but not more than 15 member countries elected by the General Assembly for a term of 5 years, and a Secretariat.
- Upon the recommendation of the Council, the General Assembly will appoint the IBCA Secretary General for a specific term.
India’s success in tiger conservation
- India has been successful in tiger conservation, with its tiger population increasing from 1,411 in 2006 to 2,967 in 2019.
- India’s success in tiger conservation has been attributed to measures such as habitat restoration, anti-poaching efforts, and community participation.
What lies ahead?
- India plans to expand its conservation efforts to other big cat species, such as lions and leopards.
- India also plans to work with other countries to promote conservation efforts for big cats on a global scale.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bio-Computers
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: Johns Hopkins University scientists have proposed creation of Bio-Computers’ using a new area of research called “organoid intelligence”.
Background
- JHU scientists will harness the processing power of the brain and help understand the biological basis of human cognition, learning, and neurological disorders.
- Traditional methods of studying the human brain involve using rat brains, which are structurally and functionally different from human brains.
Building brain organoids in the lab
- Scientists are building 3D cultures of brain tissue in the lab, called brain organoids, using human stem cells.
- Brain organoids capture many structural and functional features of a developing human brain and are being used to study human brain development and test drugs.
- However, brain organoids developed in the lab lack sensory inputs and blood circulation, which limits their growth and sophistication.
Transplanting brain organoids
- Scientists have transplanted human brain organoid cultures into rat brains, where they formed connections with the rat brain and were functionally active.
- However, human brain organoids are still nested in the rat-brain microenvironment, which limits their relevance to humans.
What is the new “bio-computer”?
- The JHU researchers’ scheme combines brain organoids with modern computing methods to create “bio-computers”.
- Brain organoids will be grown inside flexible structures affixed with multiple electrodes to record the firing patterns of neurons and deliver electrical stimuli.
- Machine-learning techniques will be used to analyze the response patterns of neurons and their effect on human behavior or biology.
Opportunities for “bio-computers”
- Brain organoids can be developed using stem cells from individuals with neurodegenerative diseases or cognitive disorders to reveal the biological basis of human cognition, learning, and memory.
- “Bio-computers” could help decode the pathology of and develop drugs for neurodevelopmental and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and microcephaly.
Challenges for bio-computers
- Brain organoids have a diameter of less than 1 mm and have fewer than 100,000 cells on average, limiting their computing capacity.
- Researchers will have to develop microfluidic systems to transport oxygen and nutrients and remove waste products.
- The hybrid systems will generate large amounts of data that will need to be stored and analyzed using “Big Data” infrastructure and advanced analytical techniques.
- An ethics team is proposed to identify, discuss, and analyze ethical issues as they arise in the course of this work.
Conclusion
- Biocomputers will harness the processing power of the brain and help understand the biological basis of human cognition, learning, and various neurological disorders.
- Scaling up brain organoids and developing microfluidic systems and analytical techniques are the key challenges.
- Ethical issues arising from the development of biocomputers will be analyzed by an ethics team.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SWAMIH Fund
Mains level: Not Much
The Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) Investment Fund I has raised Rs 15,530 crore so far.
What is the SWAMIH investment fund?
- The SWAMIH Investment Fund I is a social impact fund specifically formed for completing stressed and stalled residential projects.
- The Fund is sponsored by the Ministry of Finance and is managed by SBICAP Ventures Ltd., a State Bank Group company.
- The Fund is considered as the lender of last resort for distressed projects.
Who are eligible for this fund?
It considers-
- First-time developers,
- Established developers with troubled projects,
- Developers with a poor track record of stalled projects,
- Customer complaints and NPA accounts, and even
- Projects where there are litigation issues.
Significance of the funds
- The Fund’s presence in a project often acts as a catalyst for better collections and sales primarily in projects that were delayed for years.
- According to the Finance Ministry, SWAMIH Fund has one of the largest domestic real estate private equity teams focused only on funding and monitoring the completion of stressed housing projects.
How many projects so far have been financed by the Fund?
- SWAMIH has so far provided final approval to about 130 projects with sanctions worth over Rs 12,000 crore.
- The Fund has completed 20,557 homes and aims to complete over 81,000 homes in the next three years across 30 tier 1 and 2 cities.
- The Fund has been able to complete construction in 26 projects and generate returns for its investors.
- It has also played a critical role in the growth of many ancillary industries in real estate and infrastructure sector having successfully unlocked liquidity of more than Rs. 35,000 crore.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: One Nation, One Challan Initiative
Mains level: Not Much
The Gujarat Govt. informed High Court that it’s setting up virtual traffic courts under ‘One Nation One Challan’ initiative while hearing a PIL on the matter.
What is the One Nation, One Challan initiative?
- One Nation, One Challan is an initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
- It aims to bring all related agencies, such as the traffic police and the Regional Transport Office (RTO), on one platform, to enable seamless collection of challans as well as data transfer.
- The integrated system uses the CCTV network to detect traffic violations and retrieve the registration number of the offending vehicle from applications like VAHAN and SARATHI.
- An e-Challan is then generated with the relevant penalty amount, and sent to the mobile number linked with the vehicle.
What did the Gujarat govt inform?
- In Gujarat, the initiative is operational in three commissionerate areas of Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat since January this year and implementation at Vadodara is underway.
How does the integration help?
- Prior to the integration, details of vehicle ownership from a different state could not be accessed through the CCTV network for penalization.
- Integration of all states’ RTO data and traffic police data with the support of NIC servers allows access to vehicle registration and related data for violators from different states.
- Challans will be sent directly to the mobile number registered with the vehicle.
- NIC is set to launch its own application for e-Challan delivery.
How do virtual traffic courts work?
- Virtual courts are aimed at eliminating the presence of litigants in the court.
- An accused can search their case on the virtual court’s website. Upon successful payment of the fine, the case will be shown as disposed of.
- For now, one court is in the process of being designated as a virtual court for the whole of Gujarat.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Charaideo Maidams, Ahom Kingdom
Mains level: Not Much
Assam’s pyramid-like structures known as moidams or maidams have met all the technical requirements of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre.
Charaideo Maidams
- The Charaideo maidams represents the late medieval (13th-19th century CE) mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahom community in Assam.
- The Ahoms preferred to place the departed family members at Charaideo where the first king Sukapha was laid to rest.
- The historical chronicles inform that wives, attendants, pet animals and huge quantity of valuables were buried with the departed kings.
- The Charaideo Maidams enshrine the mortal remains of the members of the Ahom royalty, who used to be buried with their paraphernalia.
- After the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu method of cremation and began entombing the cremated bones and ashes in a Maidam at Charaideo.
- Out of 386 Maidams explored so far, 90 royal burials at Charaideo are the best preserved, representative of and the most complete examples of mound burial tradition of the Ahoms.
Architecture details
- Architecturally it comprises a massive underground vault with one or more chambers having domical superstructure.
- It is covered by a heap of earthen mound and externally it appears a hemispherical mound.
- At the top of the mound a small open pavilion chow-chali is provided.
- An octagonal dwarf wall encloses whole maidam.
Ahoms Dynasty
- The Ahom, also known as the Tai-Ahom, are an ethnic group from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India.
- This ethnic group is made up of interbred descendants of the Tai people, who first came to Assam’s Brahmaputra valley in 1228, and indigenous people who later joined them.
- Sukaphaa, the Tai group’s leader, and his 9000 supporters founded the Ahom empire (1228–1826 CE), which ruled over part of modern-day Assam’s Brahmaputra Valley until 1826.
- Charaideo, more than 400 km east of Guwahati, was the first capital of the Ahom dynasty founded by Chao Lung Sukaphaa in 1253.
- The current Ahom people and culture are a mix of the ancient Tai people and culture, as well as indigenous Tibeto-Burman people and cultures that they assimilated in Assam.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Foldscope
Mains level: NA
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed a cheap paper microscope (foldscope) connected to a smartphone camera that could find wider application in a variety of research areas, and in some cases potentially replace more expensive equipment.
What is Foldscope?
- The Foldscope is a handheld microscope made mostly of paper that can be easily linked to a smartphone camera.
- It has a magnification of around 140x and can identify objects just 2 micrometres wide.
- It was first created by researchers at Stanford University in 2014.
- IISc version of Foldscope costs around Rs 400, much cheaper than that of Stanford’s one.
How is Foldscope comparable to electron microscope?
- The researchers found that Foldscope could capture the roundness and aspect ratio of an object to within 5% of those imaged by a state-of-the-art instrument called a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
- SEM costs more than Rs 50 lakh each.
- Preparing a sample for study through a Foldscope takes less than an hour, whereas the same process for an SEM was “tedious and time-consuming”.
Potential applications
- Foldscopes can be used in pharmaceuticals (to inspect drug products), environmental science (to observe pollutants), and cosmetics (to observe powders and emulsions), among other fields.
- They can also be used to study “soil particles’ morphology,” which can “help understand soil structure, nutrient availability, and plant growth” in agriculture.
- It allows for in-field soil analysis and visualisation of soil structure per Indian Standard Soil Classification System which earlier required bulky microscopes with high resolution.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yellowstone NP
Mains level: Not Much
Yellowstone National Park, which celebrated its 151st anniversary earlier this week, is widely considered to be the first national park in the world.
Yellowstone National Park
- It is a large protected area located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho.
- It was established in 1872 and is widely considered to be the first national park in the world.
- It spans an area of over 9,000 sq. km comprising lakes, canyons, rivers, iconic geothermal features such as the Old Faithful geyser, and mountain ranges.
Some key features and attractions of Yellowstone National Park include:
- Geothermal features: Yellowstone is famous for its geothermal features, including geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and steam vents. The most famous of these is Old Faithful, a geyser that erupts on a regular schedule.
- Wildlife: Yellowstone is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, elk, and moose. Visitors can see these animals in their natural habitats throughout the park.
- Scenic drives: The park has several scenic drives, including the Grand Loop Road, which takes visitors to many of the park’s major attractions.
- Fishing: The park has many rivers and lakes that offer excellent fishing opportunities, including the Yellowstone River.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Loan-Loss Provision
Mains level: NPA crisis
The Reserve Bank of India is moving closer towards ring-fencing the banking system from credit losses as it proposes to move to provision on the principles of ‘expected losses’ from ‘incurred losses. ‘
What is a Loan-Loss Provision?
- The RBI defines a loan loss provision as an expense that banks set aside for defaulted loans.
- Banks set aside a portion of the expected loan repayments from all loans in their portfolio to cover the losses either completely or partially.
- In the event of a loss, instead of taking a loss in its cash flows, the bank can use its loan loss reserves to cover the loss.
- The level of loan loss provision is determined based on the level expected to protect the safety and soundness of the bank.
What is Expected Credit Loss (ECL) regime?
- The Expected Credit Loss (ECL) regime is a new accounting standard that was introduced by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in response to the global financial crisis of 2008.
- The ECL regime requires banks and other financial institutions to estimate and report the expected losses from their loan portfolios over the lifetime of the loans.
- Under the ECL regime, financial institutions must assess the credit risk associated with each loan and estimate the expected losses that will result from default or other credit events.
- These expected losses must be recognized in the financial institution’s accounts and reported to investors and other stakeholders.
- Under this practice, a bank is required to estimate expected credit losses based on forward-looking estimations rather than wait for credit losses to be actually incurred before making corresponding loss provisions.
Benefits of the ECL regime
- ECL will result in excess provisions as compared to a shortfall in provisions, as seen in the incurred loss approach.
- It will further enhance the resilience of the banking system in line with globally accepted norms.
Issues with this regime
- It requires banks to provide for losses that have already occurred or been incurred.
- The delay in recognizing loan losses resulted in banks having to make higher levels of provisions which affected the bank’s capital.
- This affected banks’ resilience and posed systemic risks.
- The delays in recognizing loan losses overstated the income generated by the banks, which, coupled with dividend payouts, impacted their capital base.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Anmol Jeevan Mission, Tanka
Mains level: Not Much
A recent initiative called the ‘Anmol Jeevan Abhiyan’ (Precious Life Campaign) in Barmer, Rajasthan has motivated village panchayats and homeowners to add hand pumps and locked covers to tankas for improved structure.
What are Tankas?
- The tankas with a huge water storage capacity are traditionally built adjacent to the residential units in western Rajasthan.
- It is used for collecting rainwater and using it throughout the year for drinking and other household needs.
- They were constructed in households under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
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Anmol Jeevan Abhiyan
- The ‘Anmol Jeevan Abhiyan’ (Precious Life Campaign) has encouraged village panchayats and owners of houses to make the structural addition of hand pumps and locked covers on tankas.
- The light-weight hand pumps made of fibre serve the dual purpose of preventing the accidents and suicides as well as drawing of water from the tank.
- The campaign has been started jointly by the district administration, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Action Aid.
- Among the 171 suicide cases reported last year, as many as 64 were those of women and a majority was those who had jumped into the water tanks.
Benefits offered
- Though the campaign has made an impact during the last three to four months, it cannot be measured in quantitative terms at present because of its continuity, even as the reports of suicides have gradually reduced.
- The permanent closure of tankas with the metal cover having lock also ensured that no cattleheads or other animals fall into them tank.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Proton Beam Therapy
Mains level: Not Much
There is currently a demand-supply gap of proton beam therapy machines in India, leaving many cancer patients in a difficult situation.
What is Proton Beam Therapy?
- Proton beam therapy is a type of radiation therapy — a treatment that uses high-energy beams to treat tumors.
- Radiation therapy using X-rays has long been used to treat cancers and noncancerous (benign) tumors.
- It uses protons rather than x-rays to treat cancer. At high energy, protons can destroy cancer cells.
- It can also be combined with x-ray radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or immunotherapy.
- Like x-ray radiation, proton therapy is a type of external-beam radiation therapy.
How it works?
- Fundamentally, all tissue cells are made up of molecules with atoms as their building blocks.
- In the center of every atom is the nucleus. Orbiting the nucleus of the atom are negatively charged electrons.
- When energized protons pass near orbiting electrons, the positive charge of the protons attracts the negatively charged electrons, pulling them out of their orbits. This is called ionization.
- It changes the characteristics of the atom and consequentially the character of the molecule within which the atom resides.
- Because of ionization, the radiation damages molecules within the cells, especially the DNA.
- Damaging the DNA destroys specific cell functions, particularly the ability to divide or proliferate.
- While both normal and cancerous cells go through this repair process, a cancer cell’s ability to repair molecular injury is frequently inferior.
- As a result, cancer cells sustain more permanent damage and subsequent cell death than occurs in the normal cell population.
Why in news?
- There is currently a significant demand-supply gap of proton beam therapy machines in India, with only a few machines available in the country.
- This has resulted in long wait times for patients who need the treatment, and many patients are forced to travel abroad to access the treatment, which can be prohibitively expensive.
Various challenges
- Huge demand: The demand for PBT machines is also increasing, as more and more patients are being diagnosed with cancer and are seeking the latest and most effective treatments available.
- High cost: One of the major challenges in setting up PBT machines is the high cost involved, as the machines are complex and require a significant investment.
- Shortage of personnel: In addition, there is a shortage of trained personnel who can operate and maintain the machines, which further limits their availability.
Way Forward
- The government and private sector need to invest more in setting up and maintaining the machines. This could include-
- Offering tax incentives and subsidies to private healthcare providers who invest in PBT machines
- Providing training and education to personnel who can operate and maintain the machines
- Setting up more public hospitals that offer proton beam therapy, which would help to make the treatment more accessible and affordable to patients who need it
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