Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pegasus
Mains level: Whatsapp snooping
Telephone numbers of some noted Indian journalists were successfully snooped upon by an unidentified agency using Pegasus software.
Pegasus Spyware
- All spyware do what the name suggests â they spy on people through their phones.
- Pegasus works by sending an exploit link, and if the target user clicks on the link, the malware or the code that allows the surveillance is installed on the userâs phone.
- A presumably newer version of the malware does not even require a target user to click a link.
- Once Pegasus is installed, the attacker has complete access to the target userâs phone.
- The first reports on Pegasusâs spyware operations emerged in 2016, when Ahmed Mansoor, a human rights activist in the UAE, was targeted with an SMS link on his iPhone 6.
What is the new threat?
- Pegasus has evolved from its earlier spear-phishing methods using text links or messages to âzero-clickâ attacks which do not require any action from the phoneâs user.
- This had made what was without a doubt the most powerful spyware out there, more potent and almost impossible to detect or stop.
How do zero-click attacks work?
- A zero-click attack helps spyware like Pegasus gain control over a device without human interaction or human error.
- Zero-click attacks are hard to detect given their nature and hence even harder to prevent.
- Detection becomes even harder in encrypted environments where there is no visibility on the data packets being sent or received.
- Most of these attacks exploit software that receive data even before it can determine whether what is coming in is trustworthy or not, like an email client.
Answer this PYQ from CSP 2018:
Q.The terms âWannaCry, Petya, Eternal Blueâ sometimes mentioned news recently are related to
(a) Exoplanets
(b) Crypto currency
(c) Cyber attacks
(d) Mini satellites
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sedition in colonial times
Mains level: Not Much
Recently, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana observed that the âcolonial lawâ was used by the British to silence Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Must read:
Sedition Law and its discontents
Use of sedition law through history
- According to the LOC blog, the first known instance of the application of the law was the trial of newspaper editor Jogendra Chandra Bose in 1891.
- Other prominent examples of the application of the law include the trials of Tilak and Gandhi.
- Apart from this, Jawaharlal Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar were also charged with sedition.
When was sedition law used against Gandhi and Tilak?
- In 1922, Gandhi was arrested on charges of sedition in Bombay for taking part in protests against the colonial government.
- He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released after two years because of medical reasons.
- Before Gandhi, Tilak faced three trials in cases related to sedition and was imprisoned twice.
- He was charged with sedition in 1897 for writing an article in his weekly publication called Kesari and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.
- He has tried again in 1908 and was represented by MA Jinnah. But his application for bail was rejected and he was sentenced to six years.
- The second time he was tried was also because of his writings, one of which referred to the murder of European women in Muzzafarpur when bombs were thrown by Bengali revolutionaries.
- Interestingly, the judge who announced Tilakâs sentence in the second trial, Justice DD Davar, had represented him in his first trial in 1897.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Amazon forests
Mains level: Climate Change
The Amazon forests in South America, which are the largest tropical forests in the world, have started emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of absorbing carbon emissions.
Note the countries bordered by the Amazon forests.
Amazon forests
- The Amazon rainforest is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America.
- This basin encompasses 7,000,000 sq km of which 5,500,000 sq km are covered by the rainforest.
- The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
- It represents over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world.
Why in news?
- A significant amount of deforestation in eastern and southeastern Brazil has turned the forest into a source of CO2 that has the ability to warm the planet.
- Not only the Amazon rainforests, some forests in Southeast Asia have also turned into carbon sources in the last few years as a result of the formation of plantations and fires.
What have the researchers found?
- Over the years as fossil-fuel emissions across the world have increased, the Amazon forests have absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere, helping to moderate the global climate.
- But researchers are not saying that because of significant levels of deforestation (over the course of 40 years) there has been a long-term decrease in rainfall and increase in temperatures during the dry season.
- Because of these reasons the eastern Amazon forests are no longer carbon sinks, whereas the more intact and wetter forests in the central and western parts are neither carbon sinks nor are they emitters.
- Another reason for the eastern region not being able to absorb as much CO2 as it did previously is the conversion of forests into agricultural land.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Doppler Radar
Mains level: Not Much
The India Meteorological Departmentâs (IMD) Doppler Radar in Mumbai, which surveys weather patterns and forecasts, stopped working after heavy rainfalls.
How does a Doppler radar work?
- In radars, a beam of energyâ called radio wavesâ is emitted from an antenna.
- When this beam strikes an object in the atmosphere, the energy scatters in all directions, with some reflecting directly back to the radar.
- The larger the object deflecting the beam, the greater is the amount of energy that the radar receives in return.
- Observing the time required for the beam to be transmitted and returned to the radar allows weather forecasting departments to âseeâ raindrops in the atmosphere, and measure their distance from the radar.
What makes a Doppler radar special?
- It can provide information on both the position of targets as well as their movement.
- It does this by tracking the âphaseâ of transmitted radio wave pulses; phase meaning the shape, position, and form of those pulses.
- As computers measure the shift in phase between the original pulse and the received echo, the movement of raindrops can be calculated.
- Thus it is possible to tell whether the precipitation is moving toward or away from the radar.
Types of Doppler radar
- In India, Doppler radars of varying frequencies â S-band, C-band and X-band â are commonly used.
- They help track the movement of weather systems and cloud bands and gauge rainfall over its coverage area of about 500 km.
- The radars guide meteorologists, particularly in times of extreme weather events like cyclones and associated heavy rainfall.
- An X-band radar is used to detect thunderstorms and lightning whereas C-band guides in cyclone tracking.
Why are they called âDopplerâ radars?
- The phase shift in these radars works on the same lines as the âDoppler effectâ observed in sound waves.
- It tells that the sound pitch of an object approaching the observer is higher due to the compression of sound waves (a change in their phase).
- As this object moves away from the observer, the sound waves stretch, resulting in lower frequency.
- This effect explains why an approaching trainâs whistle sounds louder than the whistle when the train moves away.
- The discovery of the phenomenon is attributed to Christian Doppler, a 19th-century Austrian physicist.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 311
Mains level: Civil services reforms
Lt Governor has dismissed 11 Jammu and Kashmir government employees for alleged terror links under provisions of Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution.
What is Article 311?
- Article 311 of the Constitution deals with âDismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil capacities under the Union or a Stateâ.
- Under Article 311(2), no civil servant can be âdismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which he has been informed of the charges and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those chargesââ.
- Subsection (c) of the provision, however, says this clause shall not apply âwhere the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State it is not expedient to hold such inquiryâ.
Remedy available
- The only available remedy to a terminated employee is to challenge the governmentâs decision in the High Court.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BHIM, UPI, IMPS
Mains level: Mobile banking facilities in India
Bhutan becomes the first country, in Indiaâs immediate neighbourhood, to use the BHIM app for mobile-based payments and âto adopt UPI standards for its QR deploymentâ.
Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)
- BHIM is an Indian mobile payment App developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
- Named after B. R. Ambedkar and launched on 30 December 2016 it is intended to facilitate e-payments directly through banks and encourage cashless transactions.
- The application supports all Indian banks which use UPI, which is built over the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) infrastructure and allows the user to instantly transfer money between bank accounts of any two parties.
- It can be used on all mobile devices.
Note: Bhutan has become the first country to adopt Indiaâs Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards for its quick response (QR) code. It is also the second country after Singapore to have BHIM-UPI acceptance at merchant locations, NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL).
What is UPI?
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system developed by NPCI facilitating inter-bank transactions.
- The interface is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and works by instantly transferring funds between two bank accounts on a mobile platform.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q. With reference to digital payments, consider the following statements:
- BHIM app allows the user to transfer money to anyone with a UPI-enabled bank account.
- While a chip-pin debit card has four factors of authentication, BHIM app has only two factors of authentication.
Which of the statements given above is/ are correct? (CSP 2018)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
You can use our popular TIKDAM Technique to solve such tricky questions:
Tikdam Technique – How our Prime Test Series 2020 gives you an edge
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UV technology for disinfection
Mains level: Not Much
The Union Ministry for Science and Technology has informed that Ultraviolet-C or UV-C Disinfection Technology will soon be installed in Parliament for the mitigation of airborne transmission of SARS-COV-2.
UV-C air duct disinfection system
- The UV-C air duct disinfection system was developed by CSIR-CSIO (Central Scientific Instruments Organisation).
- The system is designed to fit into any existing air-ducts and the virucidal dosages using UV-C intensity and residence time can be optimized according to the existing space.
- The release adds that the virus is deactivated in any aerosol particles by the calibrated levels of UV-C light. It can be used in auditoriums, malls, educational Institutions, AC buses, and railways.
What is Ultraviolet (UV)?
- Ultraviolet (UV) is a type of light or radiation naturally emitted by the Sun. It covers a wavelength range of 100-400 nm. The human visible light ranges from 380â700 nm.
- UV is divided into three bands: UV-C (100-280 nm), UV-B (280-315 nm) and UV-A (315-400 nm).
- UV-A and UV-B rays from the Sun are transmitted through our atmosphere and all UV-C is filtered by the ozone layer.
- UV-B rays can only reach the outer layer of our skin or epidermis and can cause sunburns and are also associated with skin cancer.
- UV-A rays can penetrate the middle layer of your skin or the dermis and can cause ageing of skin cells and indirect damage to cellsâ DNA.
- UV-C radiation from man-made sources has been known to cause skin burns and eye injuries.
So, can UV-C kill coronavirus?
- UV-C radiation (wavelength around 254 nm) has been used for decades to disinfect the air in hospitals, laboratories, and also in water treatment.
- But these conventional germicidal treatments are done in unoccupied rooms as they can cause health problems.
- It can destroy the outer protein coating of the SARS-Coronavirus.
Is it safe for humans?
- The device is specifically developed to disinfect non-living things.
- UV-C radiation used in this device could be harmful to the skin and eyes of living beings.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.What is the role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the water purification systems?
- It inactivates/kills the harmful microorganisms in water.
- It removes all the undesirable odours from the water.
- It quickens the sedimentation of solid particles, removes turbidity and improves the clarity of water.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2010)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lightening and Thunderstorms
Mains level: Not Much
With the monsoon making a slow revival over several parts of India, except the northwest region, there is a rise in lightning-linked deaths.
What is lightning?
- Lightning is a very rapid â and massive â discharge of electricity in the atmosphere, some of which is directed towards the Earthâs surface.
- These discharges are generated in giant moisture-bearing clouds that are 10-12 km tall.
- The base of these clouds typically lies within 1-2 km of the Earthâs surface, while their top is 12-13 km away.
- Temperatures towards the top of these clouds are in the range of minus 35 to minus 45 degrees Celsius.
How does it strike?
- As water vapour moves upward in the cloud, the falling temperature causes it to condense.
- Heat is generated in the process, which pushes the molecules of water further up.
- As they move to temperatures below zero degrees Celsius, the water droplets change into small ice crystals. They continue to move up, gathering mass â until they are so heavy that they start to fall to Earth.
- This leads to a system in which, simultaneously, smaller ice crystals are moving up and bigger crystals are coming down.
- Collisions follow and trigger the release of electrons â a process that is very similar to the generation of sparks of electricity.
- As the moving free electrons cause more collisions and more electrons, a chain reaction ensues.
- This process results in a situation in which the top layer of the cloud gets positively charged, while the middle layer is negatively charged.
Making of the thunder
- The electrical potential difference between the two layers is huge â of the order of a billion to 10 billion volts.
- In very little time, a massive current, of the order of 100,000 to a million amperes, starts to flow between the layers.
- An enormous amount of heat is produced, and this leads to the heating of the air column between the two layers of the cloud.
- This heat gives the air column a reddish appearance during lightning. As the heated air column expands, it produces shock waves that result in thunder.
How does this current reach the Earth from the cloud?
- While the Earth is a good conductor of electricity, it is electrically neutral.
- However, in comparison to the middle layer of the cloud, it becomes positively charged.
- As a result, about 15%-20% of the current gets directed towards the Earth as well.
- It is this flow of current that results in damage to life and property on Earth.
- There is a greater probability of lightning striking tall objects such as trees, towers or buildings.
- Once it is about 80-100 m from the surface, lightning tends to change course towards these taller objects.
- This happens because air is a poor conductor of electricity, and electrons that are travelling through air seek both a better conductor and the shortest route to the relatively positively charged Earthâs surface.
What precautions should be taken against lightning?
- Lightning rarely hits people directly â but such strikes are almost always fatal.
- People are most commonly struck by what are called âground currentsâ.
- The electrical energy, after hitting a large object (such as a tree) on Earth, spreads laterally on the ground for some distance, and people in this area receive electrical shocks.
- It becomes more dangerous if the ground is wet (which it frequently is because of the accompanying rain), or if there is metal or other conducting material on it.
- Water is a conductor, and many people are struck by lightning while standing in flooded paddy fields.
- For the reasons given above, taking shelter under a tree is dangerous. Lying flat on the ground too can increase risks.
- People should move indoors in a storm; however, even indoors, they should avoid touching electrical fittings, wires, metal, and water.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.During a thunderstorm, the thunder in the skies is produced by the:
- meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky
- lightning that separates the nimbus clouds
- violent upward movement of air and water particles
Select the correct option using the codes given below (CSP 2011):
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) None of the above
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cryptocurrencies
Mains level: Issues with Cryptocurrencies
Last week, Twitter CEO announced his payments firm Square would soon build a hardware wallet to store bitcoin.
Bitcoin Hardware Wallet
- The wallet will be a type of plug-in device, much like a USB pen drive that stores, manages and secures a userâs crypto assets.
- Each digital asset is linked to a cryptographic password called a âprivate keyâ to allow users to access it.
- This key safeguards cryptocurrencies from theft and unauthorized access.
- The asset owner, with the help of a secure hardware wallet, can access the private key to buy and sell crypto assets from anywhere.
- Most hardware wallets allow users to manage multiple accounts; some even allow users to connect to their Google or Facebook accounts.
- Popular hardware wallets include Trezor, Ledger, KeepKey and Prokey.
How is it different from a software wallet?
- Cryptocurrency keys can be stored in two kinds of wallets – software and hardware.
- Software wallets are like smartphone apps that digitally store private keys.
- Most software wallets donât charge users to store private keys but may collect a commission for trading via the app.
- These wallets can be vulnerable to malware.
- Hardware wallets and physical devices act like cold storage for confidential keys. The passwords are protected by a PIN, making it difficult for hackers to extract private keys as the information is not exposed to the Internet.
The upsides of a hardware wallet
- Hardware wallets are said to be convenient as they can be connected to trading exchanges to complete transactions.
- Hardware wallets are often stored in a protected microcontroller and cannot be transferred out of the device, making them secure.
- Their isolation from the Internet also mitigates the risk of the assets being compromised. Moreover, it does not rely on any third-party app.
Limitations
- Since the wallet is in physical form, the device could be stolen or destroyed.
- They could be used by malicious actors to steal confidential data.
- The device can also be expensive as compared to software wallets.
- Some hardware wallets can also have complex features, making it difficult for first-timers to understand.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.With reference to âBlockchain Technologyâ, consider the following statements:
- It is a public ledger that everyone can inspect but which no single user controls.
- The structure and design of block chain is such that all the data in it are about crypto currency only.
- Applications that depend on basic features of blockchain can be developed without anybodyâs permission.
Which of the statement given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(d) 1 and 3
Back2Basics: Cryptocurrencies
- A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database.
- It uses strong cryptography to secure transaction records, control the creation of additional coins, and verify the transfer of coin ownership.
- It typically does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority.
- Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: G-Secs
Mains level: Not Much
The RBI has announced a scheme under which retail investors will be allowed to open retail direct gilt accounts (RDG) directly with the central bank.
Retail Direct Scheme
- The scheme is a one-stop solution to facilitate investment in government securities (G-secs) by individual investors.
- Under RDG schemes, accounts can be opened through a dedicated online portal, which will provide registered users access to primary issuance of government securities and to NDS-OM.
What is a gilt account?
- A “Gilt Account” means an account opened and maintained for holding Government securities, by an entity or a person including ‘a person resident outside India’ with a “Custodian” permitted by the RBI.
About Government Securities
- These are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money.
- The two key categories are:
- Treasury bills (T-Bills) â short-term instruments which mature in 91 days, 182 days, or 364 days, and
- Dated securities â long-term instruments, which mature anywhere between 5 years and 40 years
Note: T-Bills are issued only by the central government, and the interest on them is determined by market forces.
Why G-Secs?
- Like bank fixed deposits, g-secs are not tax-free.
- They are generally considered the safest form of investment because they are backed by the government. So, the risk of default is almost nil.
- However, they are not completely risk-free, since they are subject to fluctuations in interest rates.
- Bank fixed deposits, on the other hand, are guaranteed only to the extent of Rs 5 lakh by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).
Retail investors and G-Secs
- Small investors can invest indirectly in g-secs by buying mutual funds or through certain policies issued by life insurance firms.
- To encourage direct investment, the government and RBI have taken several steps in recent years.
- Retail investors are allowed to place non-competitive bids in auctions of government bonds through their Demat accounts.
- Stock exchanges act as aggregators and facilitators of retail bids.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Black Sea mapping
Mains level: India-Georgia ties
After a long-standing request of Georgia, External Affairs Minister handed over the holy relics of 17th century Georgian Queen St. Ketevan nearly 16 years after they were found in Goa.
Who was St. Ketevan?
- Queen Ketevan was a 17th century Georgian Queen.
- From Kakheti, a kingdom in eastern Georgia, she was tortured and killed in 1624 in Shiraz during the rule of the Safavid dynasty.
- Portuguese missionaries were said to have carried the relics to Goa in 1627.
- In 2005, after years of research and study of medieval Portuguese records, the relics were found at the St. Augustine Church in Old Goa.
Importance of Georgia for India
- Georgia a strategically important country situated at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
- Relations between Georgia and India date back to ancient times.
- The Panchatantra influenced Georgian folk legends. During the medieval period, Georgian missionaries, travelers, and traders visited India.
- Some Georgians served in the courts of Mughal emperors, and a few rose to the rank of governor.
- India was among the first countries to officially recognize Georgia, doing so on 26 December 1991.
- India is a net exporter to Georgia.
- The main commodities exported by India to Georgia are cereals, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery and equipment, aluminium and aluminium articles.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Consider the following pairs:
| Sea |
Bordering Country |
| 1. |
Adriatic Sea |
Albania |
| 2. |
Black Sea |
Croatia |
| 3. |
Caspian Sea |
Kazakhstan |
| 4. |
Mediterranean Sea |
Morocco |
| 5. |
Red Sea |
Syria |
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched? (CSP 2019)
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mekedatu Project
Mains level: Inter-state river disputes
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are again at the crossroads against the Mekedatu dam project in the Cauvery River Basin.
What is the Mekedatu Project?
- Mekedatu, meaning goatâs leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and Arkavathi, about 100 km from Bengaluru, at the Kanakapura taluk in Karnatakaâs Ramanagara district.
- In 2013, then Karnataka announced the construction of a multi-purpose balancing reservoir project.
- The project aimed to alleviate the drinking water problems of the Bengaluru and Ramanagara districts.
- It was also expected to generate hydroelectricity to meet the power needs of the state.
Issues with the project
- Soon after the project was announced TN has objected over granting of permission or environmental clearance.
- Explaining the potential for damage to the lower riparian state of TN, it said that the project was in violation of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
- It stated that the project will affect the natural flow of the river Cauvery considerably and will severely affect the irrigation in TN.
What do the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court say?
- The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, in its final order on February 2007, made allocations to all the riparian States â Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, apart from the Union Territory of Puducherry.
- It also stipulated âtentative monthly deliveries during a normal yearâ to be made available by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu.
- Aggrieved over the final order for different reasons, the States had appealed to the Supreme Court.
- In February 2018, the court, in its judgment, revised the water allocation and increased the share of Karnataka by 14.75 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) at the cost of Tamil Nadu.
- The enhanced quantum comprised 4.75 tmc ft for meeting drinking water and domestic requirements of Bengaluru and surrounding areas.
What is Karnataka planning?
- Encouraged by the Supreme Court verdict, Karnataka, which sees the order as an endorsement of its stand, has set out to pursue the Mekedatu project.
- Originally proposed as a hydropower project, the revised Mekedatu dam project has more than one purpose to serve.
- A hydropower plant of nearly 400 MW has also been proposed.
- The Karnataka government has argued that the proposed reservoir will regulate the flow to Tamil Nadu on a monthly basis, as stipulated by the Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
- This is why Karnataka has contended that the project will not affect the interests of Tamil Nadu farmers.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Next-generation DNA sequencing
Mains level: Not Much
The 2020 Millennium Technology Prize has been awarded to Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman, for their development of revolutionary Next-generation DNA sequencing techniques.
About Millennium Technology Prize
- The Millennium Technology Prize is one of the world’s largest technology prizes.
- It is awarded once every two years by Technology Academy Finland, an independent fund established by Finnish industry and the Finnish state in partnership.
What is next-generation DNA sequencing?
- Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a massively parallel sequencing technology that offers ultra-high throughput, scalability, and speed.
- The technology is used to determine the order of nucleotides in entire genomes or targeted regions of DNA or RNA.
- These technologies allow for sequencing of DNA and RNA much more quickly and cheaply than the previously used sequencing.
- NGS has revolutionized the biological sciences, allowing labs to perform a wide variety of applications and study biological systems at a level never before possible.
- More than a million base pairs can be sequenced, which translates to hundreds of genes or even the whole genome of an organism.
- This is made possible by simultaneously sequencing hundreds of pieces of DNA at the same time.
What is sequencing, btw?
- DNA (or RNA, in some viruses), the genetic material of life forms, is made of four bases (A, T, G and C; with U replacing T in the case of RNA).
- A chromosome is the duplex of a long linear chain of these â and in the DNA sequence is information â the blueprint of life.
- Life famously can replicate, and DNA replicates when an enzyme, DNA polymerase, synthesises a complementary strand using an existing DNA strand as the template.
- The breakthrough idea of Balasubramanian and Klenerman was to sequence DNA (or RNA) using this process of strand synthesis.
- They cleverly modified their ATGC bases so that each shone with a different colour.
- When copied, the âcolouredâ copy of DNA could be deciphered from the colours alone, using miniature optical and electronic devices.
What about the cost of all this sequencing?
- When the Human Genome Project delivered the first, near-complete sequence of our genome, the cost was estimated to have been 3 billion dollars.
- As all our chromosomes together have 3 billion base pairs, it becomes an easy calculation â One dollar per sequenced base.
- By the year 2020, NGS technologies has pushed the price for sequencing to a few thousands of rupees.
Back2Basics:
What is the Human Genome Project?
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Flora of Sikkim
Mains level: NA
Sikkim, the smallest State with less than 1% of Indiaâs landmass, is home to 27% of all flowering plants found in the country, reveals a recent publication by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
Flora of Sikkim
- Flora of Sikkim â A Pictorial Guide lists 4,912 naturally occurring flowering plants in the tiny Himalayan State.
- The total number of naturally occurring flowering plants in the country is about 18,004 species, and with 4,912 species, the diversity of flowering plants in Sikkim, spread over an area of 7,096 sq. km. is very unique.
Why is Sikkim a host to such large biodiversity?
- Sikkim is a part of the Kanchenjunga biosphere landscape, has different altitudinal ecosystems, which provide opportunities for herbs and trees to grow and thrive.
- The State also borders China, Bhutan and Nepal, and the Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal.
- From subalpine vegetation to the temperate to the tropical, the State has different kinds of vegetation, and that is the reason for such a diversity of flora.
- The elevation also varies between 300 to 8,598 metres above mean sea level, the apex being the top of Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586 metres).
Contribution by the Public
- The people of Sikkim have a unique bond with nature and trees.
- As per the Sikkim Forest Tree (Amity & Reverence) Rules, 2017 the State government allows any person to associate with trees standing on his or her private land or on any public land by entering into a Mith/Mit or Mitini relationship.
- The notification encouraged people to adopt a tree âas if it was his or her own child in which case the tree shall be called an adopted treeâ.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which one of the following National Parks lies completely in the temperate alpine zone?
(a) Manas National Park
(b) Namdapha National Park
(c) Neora Valley National Park
(d) Valley of Flowers National Park
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
Mains level: Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
Fearing any surge in coronavirus cases in the national capital, which is witnessing a decline in cases of infection, the Delhi government has chalked out the ‘Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).’
Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
- In 2014, when a study by the WHO found that Delhi was the most polluted city in the world, panic spread in the Centre and the state government.
- Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016, the plan was formulated after several meetings that the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) held with state government and experts.
- The result was a plan that institutionalized measures to be taken when air quality deteriorates.
- GRAP also works as an emergency measure.
- It includes strict measures such as a ban on the entry of heavy vehicles, the odd-even road rationing restrictions, and a halt of construction work â each of which is likely to be impractical at a time when the pandemic has exacted heavy economic costs and public transport has been seen as an infection risk.
For covid purposes
- This time, it was decided to notify the GRAP that will âobjectively and transparentlyâ ensure an âinstitutional and automaticâ response with regards to enforcement measures, lockdowns and unlock activities.
- The plan was prepared in comparison with ascent data of the four waves at specific positivity rates of 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 5% and also considered on the basis of the earlier four waves.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Methanogens on saturn's moon
Mains level: Hunt for extra-terrestrial life
NASAâs Cassini spacecraft has detected an unusually high concentration of methane, along with carbon dioxide and dihydrogen, in the moons of Saturn by flying through their plumes.
What is the new observation?
- The spacecraft has found that Titan has methane in its atmosphere and Enceladus has a liquid ocean with erupting plumes of gas and water.
Are there methane-producing organisms on Earth?
- Most of the methane on Earth has a biological origin.
- Microorganisms called methanogens are capable of generating methane as a metabolic byproduct.
- They do not require oxygen to live and are widely distributed in nature.
- They are found in swamps, dead organic matter, and even in the human gut.
- They are known to survive in high temperatures and simulation studies have shown that they can live in Martian conditions.
- Methanogens have been widely studied to understand if they can be a contributor to global warming.
Could there be methanogens on Enceladus?
- We cannot conclude that life exists in the Enceladus ocean.
- It is the probability that Enceladusâ hydrothermal vents could be habitable to Earth-like microorganisms.
- There can be life hypotheses.
What other processes could have produced the methane?
- Methane could be formed by the chemical breakdown of organic matter present in Enceladusâ core.
- Hydrothermal processes could help the formation of carbon dioxide and methane.
- On Earth, hydrothermal vents on seafloors are known to release methane, but this happens at a very slow rate.
- This hypothesis is plausible but only if Enceladus was formed through the accretion of organic-rich material from comets.
- The results suggest that methane production from hydrothermal vents is not sufficient to explain the high methane concentration detected by Cassini in the plumes.
- An additional amount of methane produced via biological methanogenesis could match Cassiniâs observations.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Aurora, Hope Mission
Mains level: Study of Mars
The UAEâs Hope spacecraft, which is orbiting Mars since February this year, has captured images of glowing atmospheric lights in the Red Planetâs night sky, known as discrete auroras.
What causes an Aurora on Earth?
- Auroras are caused when charged particles ejected from the Sunâs surface â called the solar wind â enter the Earthâs atmosphere.
- These particles are harmful, and our planet is protected by the geomagnetic field, which preserves life by shielding us from the solar wind.
- However, at the north and south poles, some of these solar wind particles are able to continuously stream down, and interact with different gases in the atmosphere to cause a display of light in the night sky.
- This display, known as an aurora, is seen from the Earthâs high latitude regions (called the auroral oval), and is active all year round.
Where are they observed on Earth?
- In the northern part of our globe, the polar lights are called aurora borealis or Northern Lights and are seen from the US (Alaska), Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
- In the south, they are called aurora australis or southern lights and are visible from high latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.
So, how are Martian auroras different?
- Unlike auroras on Earth, which are seen only near the north and south poles, discrete auroras on Mars are seen all around the planet at night time.
- Unlike Earth, which has a strong magnetic field, the Martian magnetic field has largely died out.
- This is because the molten iron at the interior of the planetâ which produces magnetismâ has cooled.
- However, the Martian crust, which hardened billions of years ago when the magnetic field still existed, retains some magnetism.
- So, in contrast with Earth, which acts like one single bar magnet, magnetism on Mars is unevenly distributed, with fields strewn across the planet and differing in direction and strength.
- These disjointed fields channel the solar wind to different parts of the Martian atmosphere, creating âdiscreteâ auroras over the entire surface of the planet as charged particles interact with atoms and molecules in the skyâ as they do on Earth.
Why is it important to study them?
- Studying Martian auroras is important for scientists, for it can offer clues as to why the Red Planet lost its magnetic field and thick atmosphereâ among the essential requirements for sustaining life.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which region of Mars has a densely packed river deposit indicating this planet had water 3.5 billion years ago?
(a) Aeolis Dorsa
(b) Tharsis
(c) Olympus Mons
(d) Hellas
Back2Basics:
Hope Orbiter
- The Hope Probe, the Arab worldâs first mission to Mars, took off from Earth in July last year, and has been orbiting the Red Planet since February.
- The primary objective of the mission is to study Martian weather dynamics.
- By correlating the lower atmosphere and upper atmosphere conditions, the probe will look into how weather changes the escape of hydrogen and oxygen into space.
- By measuring how much hydrogen and oxygen is spilling into space, scientists will be able to look into why Mars lost so much of its early atmosphere and liquid water.
- It is expected to create the first complete portrait of the planetâs atmosphere.
- With the information gathered during the mission, scientists will have a better understanding of the climate dynamics of different layers of Marsâ atmosphere.
Mars
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.
- In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the “Red Planet”.
- The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars’s surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye.
- Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.
- The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period, as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane, is similar.
- Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pegasus
Mains level: Whatsapp snooping
An online database about the use of the spyware Pegasus was recently launched by the Forensic Architecture, Amnesty International and the Citizen Lab to document attacks against human rights defenders.
What is Pegasus?
- Last year, one of the biggest stories that broke into cyberspace was WhatsAppâs reports that 1,400 of its users were hacked by Pegasus, a spyware tool from Israeli firm NSO Group.
- All spyware do what the name suggests â they spy on people through their phones.
- Pegasus works by sending an exploit link, and if the target user clicks on the link, the malware or the code that allows the surveillance is installed on the userâs phone.
- A presumably newer version of the malware does not even require a target user to click a link.
- Once Pegasus is installed, the attacker has complete access to the target userâs phone.
Why is Pegasus dangerous?
- What makes Pegasus really dangerous is that it spares no aspect of a personâs identity. It makes older techniques of spying seem relatively harmless.
- It can intercept every call and SMS, read every email and monitor each messaging app.
- Pegasus can also control the phoneâs camera and microphone and has access to the deviceâs location data.
- The app advertises that it can carry out âfile retrievalâ, which means it could access any document that a target might have stored on their phone.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Creation of new ministry
Mains level: Cooperatives in India
The Union Government has created a new Ministry of Cooperation with an aim to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.
With the creation of the Ministry of Cooperation, there will now be a total of 41 central government ministries. Several of these ministries also have separate departments and organizations under them.
What defines a Cooperative?
- A cooperative is “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise”.
- Cooperatives are democratically owned by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors.
Ministry of Cooperation
- The ministry has been created for realizing the vision of ‘sahkar se samriddhi’ (through cooperation to prosperity).
- The NGO Sahakar Bharati, whose founder member Satish Kashinath Marathe is a part-time director on the RBI board, says it was the first to pitch for the creation of a separate ministry for the cooperative sector.
- It will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.
- It will help deepen cooperatives as a true people-based movement reaching up to the grassroots.
- The ministry will work to streamline processes for ‘ease of doing business’ for cooperatives and enable the development of multi-state cooperatives (MSCS).
Why need such Ministry?
- In our country, a Co-operative based economic development model is very relevant where each member works with a spirit of responsibility.
- This creation has signalled its deep commitment to community-based developmental partnerships.
Second new ministry created so far
- The Ministry of Cooperation is the second ministry to be created since 2019 after the Modi government came to power for the second time.
- Soon after taking charge, the government had created the Jal Shakti ministry.
- However, it was not altogether new as the Ministry of Cooperation.
- It was created by integrating two existing ministries dealing with water â Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and Drinking Water & Sanitation ministry.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair
Mains level: Not Much
A noted filmmaker has recently announced his decision to produce the biopic of Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, an acclaimed lawyer and judge in the Madras High Court and one of the early builders of the Indian National Congress.
Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair
- Nair was born in the year 1857 in Mankara village of Malabarâs Palakkad district.
- He belonged to an aristocratic family and his great grandfather was employed by the East India Company to enforce peace in the Malabar region.
- His grandfather was employed as the chief officer under the Civilian Divisional Officer.
His legal career
- Nair was drawn towards Law while he was completing his graduation from Presidency College in Madras.
- After completing his degree in Law, he was hired by Sir Horatio Shepherd who later became the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
- Since his early days as a lawyer, Nair was known for his defiant attitude.
- He went against a resolution passed by Indian vakils (advocates) of Madras stating that no Indian vakil would work as a junior to an English barrister.
- His stance on the issue made him so unpopular that he was boycotted by the other vakils, but he refused to let that bother him.
Legacy
- Nair was known for being a passionate advocate for social reforms and a firm believer in the self-determination of India.
- But what really stood out in his long glorious career is a courtroom battle he fought against the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, Michael OâDwyer.
- Nair had accused OâDwyer in his book, âGandhi and anarchyâ for being responsible for the atrocities at the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
- Consequently, he was fighting against an Englishman, in an English court that was presided over by an English jury.
- In all senses, the case was bound to make history.
- When the 1908 Montague-Chelmsford reforms were being discussed, he wrote an article in the Contemporary Review criticizing the English jury for being partial towards Englishmen.
- This infuriated the Anglo-Indian community who petitioned the Viceroy and the Secretary of State for India objecting to his appointment as high court judge the first time.
- He was once described by Edwin Montague, the secretary of state for India as an âimpossible personâ.
Key positions held
- In 1897 he became the youngest president of the INC in the history of the party till then, and the only Malayali to hold the post ever.
- By 1908 he was appointed as a permanent judge in the Madras High Court. In 1902 Lord Curzon appointed him a member of the Raleigh University Commission.
- In 1904 he was appointed as Companion of the Indian Empire by the King-Emperor and in 1912 he was knighted.
- In 1915 he became part of the Viceroyâs Council, put in charge of the education portfolio.
Career as judge
- As a Madras High Court judge, his best-known judgments clearly indicate his commitment to social reforms.
- In Budasna v Fatima (1914), he passed a radical judgement when he ruled that those who converted to Hinduism cannot be treated as outcasts.
- In a few other cases, he upheld inter-caste and inter-religious marriages.
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