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Type: Prelims Only

  • Oil and Gas Sector – HELP, Open Acreage Policy, etc.

    What is Winter Diesel?

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Winter grade diesel

    Mains level: Not much

    India’s armed forces may soon be using winter diesel for operations in high altitude areas such as Ladakh, where winter temperatures plummet to extremely low as -30° Celsius.

    This year BS-VI compliant fuel was in news. Try differentiating the Winter Diesel with the BS-VI fuel.

    What is Winter Diesel?

    • Winter diesel is a specialised fuel that was introduced by Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. last year specifically for high altitude regions and low-temperature regions such as Ladakh, where ordinary diesel can become unusable.
    • The flow characteristics of regular diesel change at such low temperatures and using it may be detrimental to vehicles.
    • Winter diesel which contains additives to maintain lower viscosity can be used in temperatures as low as -30°C and that besides a low pour point, it had higher cetane rating — an indicator is the combustion speed of diesel and compression needed for ignition.
    • It has lower sulphur content, which would lead to lower deposits in engines and better performance.

    Back2Basics: BS-VI fuel

    • Sulphur content in fuel is a major cause for concern. Sulphur dioxide released by fuel burning is a major pollutant that affects health as well.
    • BS-VI fuel’s sulphur content is much lower than BS-IV fuel.
      It is reduced to 10 mg/kg max in BS-VI from 50 mg/kg under BS-IV.

    This reduction makes it possible to equip vehicles with better catalytic converters that capture pollutants. However, BS-VI fuel is expected to be costlier that BS-IV fuel.

    With inputs from:
    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/pib-winter-grade-diesel/

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    What is the Hagia Sophia?

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1:

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Hagia Sophia

    Mains level: World History: Turkish renaissance under Ottoman Empire

    Turkey’s highest court this week convened to decide whether Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia museum can be turned into a mosque.

    Try this question:

    Q. The iconic Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage site was recently in news. It is situated in:

    a) Greece b) Turkey c) Israel d) Iran

    What is the Hagia Sophia?

    • The construction of this iconic structure in Istanbul started in 532 AD during the reign of Justinian I, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire when the city was known as Constantinople.
    • The structure was originally built to become the seat of the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church and remained so for approximately 900 years.
    • In 1453, when Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet II’s Ottoman forces, the Hagia Sophia was ransacked by the invading forces and turned into a mosque shortly after.
    • For a long time, the Hagia Sophia was Istanbul’s most important mosque.
    • The 1,500-year-old structure, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was originally a cathedral before it was turned into a mosque.

    What is the controversy about?

    • In the 1930s, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, shut down the mosque and turned it into a museum in an attempt to make the country more secular.
    • There have been calls for long from extremists groups to convert the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.

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  • Timbuktu: The faraway land

    Prelims Only | Trivia | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Timbuktu

    Mains level: NA

    Timbuktu is a western African city whose name is a metaphor for a place too exotic and remote to even imagine, now is in the grasp of Covid-19.

    Try this question from CSP 2018:

    Q.Very recently, in which of the following countries have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine/acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war/ethnic conflicts?

    (a) Angola and Zambia

    (b) Morocco and Tunisia

    (c) Venezuela and Colombia

    (d) Yemen and South Sudan

    Timbuktu

    • Timbuktu is a city in Mali, situated 20 km north of the Niger River.
    • The mystique of Timbuktu owes a lot to its inaccessibility, which continues even today.
    • It is located on the southern tip of the Sahara desert where there is nothing but thousands of miles of barren desert to its north.
    • It was a regional trade centre in medieval times, where caravans met to exchange salt from the Sahara Desert for gold, ivory, and slaves from the Sahel, which could be reached via the nearby Niger River.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Central Zoo Authority (CZA)

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Central Zoo Authority (CZA)

    Mains level: NA

    The Environment Ministry has reconstituted the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to include an expert from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, and a molecular biologist.

    Note following things about CZA:

    1)Its constitution under any Act

    2)Composition

    3)Roles and functions

    About CZA

    • The CZA is the body of the government responsible for oversight of zoos constituted under the section 38A of Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972.
    • The main objective of the authority is to complement the national effort in the conservation of wildlife.
    • Standards and norms for housing, upkeep, health care and overall management of animals in zoos have been laid down under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992.

    Roles & Functions

    • The Authority’s role is more of a facilitator than a regulator.
    • It, therefore, provides technical and financial assistance to such zoos which have the potential to attain the desired standard in animal management.
    • Primary function– grant of recognition and release of financial assistance.
    • It also regulates the exchange of animals of endangered category Listed under Schedule-I and II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act among zoos.
    • Exchange of animals between Indian and foreign zoos is also approved by the Authority before the requisite clearances under EXIM Policy and the CITES permits are issued by the competent authority.
    • The Authority also coordinates and implements programmes on capacity building of zoo personnel, planned breeding programmes and ex-situ research including biotechnological intervention for the conservation of species for complementing in-situ conservation efforts in the country.

    Composition

    • Apart from the chairman, it consists of 10 members and a member-secretary.
    • Almost all of them are officials in the Environment Ministry and NGO experts are those who are wildlife conservationists or retired forest officers.

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  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    Festival in news: Bahuda Yatra

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Bahuda Yatra, Puri Temple Architecture

    Mains level: Temple Architecture of India

    The Bahuda Yatra, the return journey of the deities to the Puri Jagannath temple after the annual Rath Yatra, was recently concluded amid permitted restrictions.

    Bahuda Yatra

    • A/c to folk stories Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Goddess Shubhadra and Lord Balabhadra, returns from their aunt’s place at Gundicha Temple to Jagannath Temple.
    • This journey is known as Bahuda Yatra.
    • Nine days after the Rath Yatra, the yatra or the return journey takes place.

    About Jagannath Rath Yatra

    • Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India.
    • It involves a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), BalaBhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot.
    • The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North.
    • It attracts over a million Hindu pilgrims who join the procession each year.

    Back2Basics: Puri Temple Architecture

    • Jagannath Temple is a very big temple and covers an area of 37000m2. The height of the outer wall is 6.1m.
    • It is surrounded by a high fortified wall 6.1 m high is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
    • The main portion of the temple is also surrounded by a wall known as Kurma Bheda.
    • The temple is built in Rekha Deula style and has four distinct sectional structures, namely –
    1. Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls)
    2. Mukhashala (Frontal porch)
    3. Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
    4. Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

    Q.Building ‘Kalyaana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of-

    (a) Chalukya (b) Chandela (c) Rashtrakuta (d) Vijayanagara

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  • Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries Sector – Pashudhan Sanjivani, E- Pashudhan Haat, etc

    G4 Flu virus and it’s pandemic potential

    Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: G4 Flu

    Mains level: Rise in zoonotic diseases and their possible causes

    In new research, scientists from China – which has the largest population of pigs in the world – have identified a “recently emerged” strain of influenza virus that is infecting Chinese pigs and that has the potential of triggering a pandemic.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.What are zoonotic diseases? Why China has emerged as the epicentre of global outbreaks of zoonotic disease?

    G4 Flu

    • Named G4, the swine flu strain has genes similar to those in the virus that caused the 2009 flu pandemic.
    • The scientists identified the virus through surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs that they carried out from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China.
    • They also found that the G4 strain has the capability of binding to human-type receptors (like, the SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2 receptors in humans).
    • The virus was able to copy itself in human airway epithelial cells, and it showed effective infectivity and aerosol transmission.

    Swine industry is the new hotspot for zoonoses

    • The scientists report that the new strain (G4) has descended from the H1N1 strain that was responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic.
    • Pigs are intermediate hosts for the generation of pandemic influenza virus.
    • Thus, systematic surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs is a key measure for pre-warning the emergence of the next pandemic influenza.

    Back2Basics: 2009 swine flu pandemic

    • The WHO declared the outbreak of type A H1N1 influenza virus a pandemic in 2009 when there were around 30,000 cases globally.
    • It was caused by a strain of the swine flu called the H1N1 virus, which was transmitted from human to human.
    • Influenza viruses that commonly circulate in swine are called “swine influenza viruses” or “swine flu viruses”.
    • Like human influenza viruses, there are different subtypes and strains of swine influenza viruses. Essentially, swine flu is a virus that pigs can get infected by.
    • The symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue.

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  • Innovations in Sciences, IT, Computers, Robotics and Nanotechnology

    Gold Nanoparticles and their applications

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Gold Nanoparticles

    Mains level: Applications of nanomaterials

    Indian researchers have successfully synthesized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) using psychrotolerant Antarctic bacteria through a non-toxic, low-cost, and eco-friendly way.

    Nanotechnology is a pathbreaking technology which can create many new materials and devices with a wide range of applications, such as in nanomedicine, nanoelectronics etc.   GNPs are another distinct development.

    What are Gold Nanoparticles?

    • Metallic NPs have been efficiently exploited for biomedical applications and among them, GNPs are found to be effective in biomedical research.
    • And NPs are those materials that are at least one dimension smaller than 100 nanometers.
    • NPs have a high surface-to-volume ratio and they can provide the tremendous driving force for diffusion, especially at elevated temperatures.
    • GNPs are melted at much lower temperatures (300 °C) than bulk gold (1064 °C).
    • NPs have been found to impart various desirable properties to different day-to-day products.
    • For example, GNPs are found to have greater solar radiation absorbing ability than the conventional bulk gold, which makes them a better candidate for use in the photovoltaic cell manufacturing industry.

    Properties of GNP

    1) Biomedical

    • Genotoxicity describes the property of a chemical agent that is capable of damaging the genetic information of DNA and thus causing the mutation of the cell, which can lead to cancer.
    • The study revealed the genotoxic effect of GNPs on a sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB).
    • These GNPs can be used as composite therapeutic agent clinical trials, especially in anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-diabetic, and cholesterol-lowering drugs.

    2) Optical

    • GNPs have unique optical properties too. For example, particles above 100 nm show blue or violet colour in the water, while the colour becomes wine red in 100 nm gold colloidal particles.
    • They can thus be used for therapeutic imaging.

    3) Electronics

    • GNPs are also found to be useful in the electronics industry.
    • Scientists have constructed a transistor known as NOMFET (Nanoparticles Organic Memory Field-Effect Transistor) by embedding GNPs in a porous manganese oxide.
    • NOMFETs can mimic the feature of the human synapse known as plasticity or the variation of the speed and strength of the signal going from neuron to neuron.
    • These novel transistors can now facilitate better recreation of certain types of human cognitive processes, such as recognition and image processing and have their application in AI.

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  • Water Management – Institutional Reforms, Conservation Efforts, etc.

    Kholongchhu Hydel Project

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Kholongchhu Hydel Project

    Mains level: Not Much

    India and Bhutan took a major step forward for the construction of the 600 MW Kholongchhu project.

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

    What is common to the places known as Aliyar, Isapur and Kangsabati?

    (a) Recently discovered uranium deposits

    (b) Tropical rain forests

    (c) Underground cave systems

    (d) Water reservoirs

    Kholongchhu Hydel Project

    • The Kholongchhu project is regarded as a “milestone” in the India-Bhutan partnership, under which four hydropower projects have been built in the last 30 years totalling a capacity of 2,100 MW.
    • It is one of four additional projects agreed to in 2008, as a part of India’s commitment to helping Bhutan create a total 10,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020.
    • The project is located at the lower course of Kholongchhu just before its confluence with Drangmechu (Gongrichu) in Trashiyangtse District of Bhutan.
    • The GoI will provide, as a grant, the equity share of the Bhutanese DGPC in the JV Company.
    • Once the project is commissioned, the JV partners will run it for 30 years, called the concession period, after which the full ownership will transfer to the Bhutan government.

    Whats’ so special with the project?

    • It is the first hydropower joint venture project in Bhutan’s less developed eastern region of Trashiyangtse.
    • It is the first time an India-Bhutan hydropower project will be constructed as a 50:50 joint venture and not as a government-to-government agreement.

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  • Innovations in Biotechnology and Medical Sciences

    What is Gynandromorphism?

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Gynandromorphism

    Mains level: NA

    Recently, a rare biological phenomenon called Gynandromorphism was observed in dragonflies at Kole wetlands of Kerala.

    Gynandromorphism is a core biology concept. We can expect a prelims question in a rare scenario.

    Try this question from CSP 2013:

    Q.Improper handling and storage of cereal grains and oilseeds result in the production of toxins known as aflatoxins which are not generally destroyed by normal cooking process. Aflatoxins are produced by

    (a) Bacteria (b) Protozoa (c) Moulds (d) Viruses

    Gynandromorphism

    • Gynandromorphs are individual animals that have both genetically male and female tissues and often have observable male and female characteristics.
    • They may be bilateral, appearing to divide down the middle into male and female sides, or they may be mosaic, with patches characteristic of one sex appearing in a body part characteristic of the other sex.
    • Gynandromorphs occur in insects, spiders, crustaceans, and other arthropods as well as in birds, but they are extremely rare, and discovering one in the field or in the laboratory is a major event.
    • Estimating how frequently they occur is difficult because they usually go unnoticed in species where sexual dimorphism is less pronounced.
    • Gynandromorphs have been reported in mosquitoes, fruit flies, and in other insects, but they are most dramatic in those butterfly species in which the male and female wing colours and patterns are dramatically different.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Jungle Fowl

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Jungle Fowl

    Mains level: NA

    A recent study by scientists has revealed new details about the earliest domestication of chicken from the Jungle Fowl.

    Try this question from CSP 2012:

    Q.What is the difference between the antelopes’ Oryx and Chiru?

    (a) Oryx is adapted to live in hot and arid areas like Africa and Arabia whereas Chiru is adapted to live in steppes and semi-desert areas of cold high mountains of Tibetan Plateau.

    (b) Oryx is poached for its antlers whereas Chiru is poached for its musk

    (c) Oryx exists in western India only whereas Chiru exists in northeast India only.

    (d) None of the statements (a), (b) and (c) given above is correct.

    Jungle Fowl

    • The DNA sequencing of 863 genomes has shown the first domestication of chicken occurred in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Myanmar.
    • The study involved sequencing of genomes from all four species of the genus Gallus, five subspecies of Red Jungle Fowl and various domestic chicken breeds collected worldwide.
    • It revealed single domestication from Red Jungle Fowl sub-species Gallus spadiceous.
    • The study also demonstrated that all five Red Jungle Fowl sub-species were genetically differentiated from each other approximately 50,000 years ago much earlier than domestication.
    • The results contradicted the earlier claim that chickens were domesticated in northern China and the Indus Valley.

    Domestication of Chicken

    • The question of domestication of chickens has intrigued scientists for centuries and has been the subject of debate.
    • Charles Darwin postulated that chickens were domesticated around 4,000 B.C. from a single ancestor, Red Jungle Fowl in the Indus Valley.
    • An important study published earlier from Uppsala University claimed the Grey Jungle Fowl had contributed to chicken domestication.
    • With this, a couple of studies from India, China and other South-Asian countries have argued the monophyletic origin of chicken.

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