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Type: Prelims Only

  • Explained: Malabar Exercise

    Phase 1 of the Malabar Naval Exercise has kicked begun with the participation of Australian navy for the first time since 2007.

    Go through the list for once. UPSC may ask a match the pair type question asking exercise name and countries involved.

    [Prelims Spotlight] Defence Exercises

    What is Malabar Exercise?

    • It is a multilateral naval exercise that includes simulated war games and combat manoeuvres.
    • It started in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the Indian and US navies. Japan joined in 2015.
    • This year the exercise will be held in two phases, the first from Tuesday off the coast near Visakhapatnam, and the second in the Arabian Sea in mid-November. Last year it was held in early September off the coast of Japan.

    Major highlight: Quad Participation

    • For the first time in over a decade, the exercise will see the participation of all four Quad countries.
    • This will be the second time Australia will participate. In 2007, there were two Malabar Exercises.
    • The first was held off Okinawa island of Japan in the Western Pacific — the first time the exercise was held away from Indian shores — and the second in September 2007.
    • The following year, Australia stopped participating. Japan became a regular participant only in 2015, making it a trilateral annual exercise since then.

    Why is Australia’s participation important?

    • The 2+2 dialogue ended with an agreement to uphold the rules-based international order, respect for the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international seas and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
    • As the standoff in eastern Ladakh continues, the participation of four large navies from the Indo-Pacific region will send a message to China.
    • It was the possibility of riling up China that had prevented India from expanding the Malabar Exercise, and from Australia joining it.

    Quad is an exception

    • Over the last few months, the Indian Navy has conducted a number of Passage Exercises (PASSEX) with navies from Japan, Australia and the US.
    • But those were basic exercises to increase operability between the navies, while Malabar involves simulated war games.

  • Who was Maharani Jindan Kaur?

    Maharani Jindan Kaur, the last wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is in news for the auction of some of her jewellery in London.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

    Who was Rani Jindan (1817-1863)?

    • She was the youngest wife of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh empire, whose boundaries stretched from Kabul to Kashmir and the borders of Delhi.
    • She was also the mother of Duleep Singh, the last ruler of the empire, who was raised by the British.
    • Duleep Singh was five years old when he was placed on the throne in 1843 after the death of two heirs to Ranjit Singh. Since he was just a child, Maharani Jindan was made the regent.
    • Not a rubber stamp, she took an active interest in running the kingdom, introducing changes in the revenue system.

    Anglo-Sikh War and Jindan

    • The British declared war on the Sikh empire in December 1845. After their victory in the first Anglo-Sikh war, they retained Duleep Singh as the ruler but imprisoned Jind Kaur.
    • She escaped and arrived at Kathmandu on April 29, 1849, where she was given asylum by Jung Bahadur, the prime minister.
    • She was given a house on the banks of river Bhagmati. She stayed in Nepal till 1860, where she continued to reach out to rebels in Punjab and Jammu-Kashmir.

  • Kawasaki Disease

    Children in the world over have shown to be affected by either Kawasaki Disease (KD) since the reopening of schools.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases?

    (a) AIDS

    (b) Bird flu

    (c) Dengue

    (d) Swine flu

    What is Kawasaki Disease?

    • Kawasaki disease is an illness that causes blood vessels to become inflamed, almost always in young children.
    • Its cause is yet unknown. It is one of the leading causes of heart disease in kids.
    • But doctors can treat it if they find it early. Most children recover without any problems.

    Symptoms

    Kawasaki disease comes on fast, and symptoms show up in phases. Signs of the first phase of Kawasaki disease include:

    • High fever that lasts more than 5 days
    • Swelling and redness in hands and bottoms of feet
    • Red eyes
    • Swollen glands, especially in the neck
    • Irritated throat, mouth, and lips

    In the second phase, symptoms include:

    • Joint pain
    • Stomach trouble, such as diarrhoea and vomiting
    • Peeling skin on hands and feet

  • What is the D614G mutation in coronavirus?

    While novel coronavirus is undergoing many mutations, one particular mutation called D614G, according to a study, has become the dominant variant in the global COVID-19 pandemic.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one of the following statements is not correct?

    (a) Hepatitis B virus is transmitted much like HIV.

    (b) Hepatitis B, unlike Hepatitis C, does not have a vaccine.

    (c) Globally, the number of people infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses is several times more than those infected with HIV.

    (d) Some of those infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses do not show the symptoms for many years.

    D614G mutation

    • When the virus enters an individual’s body, it aims at creating copies of itself. When it makes an error in this copying process, we get a mutation.
    • In this case, the virus replaced the aspartic acid (D) in the 614th position of the amino acid with glycine (G). Hence the mutation is called the D614G.
    • This mutated form of the virus was first identified in China and then in Europe. Later it spread to other countries like the U.S. and Canada and was eventually reported in India.

    Threats posed

    • This particular mutation aids the virus in attaching more efficiently with the ACE2 receptor in the human host, thereby making it more successful in entering a human body than its predecessors.
    • D614G show increased infectivity but it also displayed greater ability at attaching itself to the cell walls inside an individual’s nose and throat, increasing the viral load.

    How prevalent is it in India?

    • A study (reveals that the D614G was one of the most prevalent spike mutations even during the initial phase of the pandemic.
    • Since then, D614G mutation’s ‘relative abundance’ has increased over time to 70% and above, in most states except Delhi.

  • Asteroid 16 Psyche

    A recent study has found that asteroid 16 Psyche, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter, could be made entirely of metal and is worth an estimated $10,000 quadrillion.

    A NASA mission has recently landed on and collected samples from an asteroid. Do you remember that? Yes. Its the Asteroid Bennu

    16 Psyche

    • Located around 370 million km away from Earth, asteroid 16 Psyche is one of the most massive objects in the asteroid belt in our solar system.
    • The somewhat potato-shaped asteroid has a diameter of around 140 miles.
    • It was first discovered on March 17, 1853, by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis and was named after the ancient Greek goddess of the soul, Psyche.
    • Unlike most asteroids that are made up of rocks or ice, scientists believe that Psyche is a dense and largely metallic object thought to be the core of an earlier planet that failed in formation.
    • Its surface may mostly comprise iron and nickel, similar to the Earth’s core, according to a study.

  • Anomaly over Normal Body Temperature

    For several years now, doctors and researchers have known that 98.6°F is not really the gold-standard “normal” body temperature it was once considered to be.

    The “normal” body temperature

    • In 1851, Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich pioneered the use of the clinical thermometer.
    • It was a rod a foot long, which he would stick under the armpits of patients at the hospital attached with Leipzig University, and then wait for 15 minutes for the temperature to register.
    • He took over a million measurements of 25,000 patients, and published his findings in a book in 1868, in which he concluded that the average human body temperature is 98.6°F.
    • Most modern scientists feel Wunderlich’s experiments were flawed, and his equipment inaccurate.
    • Another study concluded that the average human body temperature is closer to 98.2°F, and suggested that the 98.6°F benchmark be discarded.

    The anomaly

    • Studies in the US and Europe have found average body temperatures declining over time.
    • In recent years, however, different studies have found the human body temperature averaging out differently, including at 97.7°, 97.9° and 98.2°F.
    • One of the largest such studies, published last year, found that body temperatures among Americans have been declining over the last two centuries.

    Now try this PYQ based on health sciences

    Q.Which of the following diseases can be transmitted from one person to another through tattooing?

    1. Chikungunya
    2. Hepatitis B
    3. HIV-AIDS

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

    (a) Only 1

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

  • In news: Great Barrier Reef

    Australian scientists have found a detached coral reef on the Great Barrier Reef that exceeds the height of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. Most of the world’s coral reefs are in tropical waters.
    2. More than one-third of the world’s coral reefs are located in the territories of Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
    3. Coral reefs host far more number of animal phyla than those hosted by tropical rainforests.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3 only

    About Great Barrier Reef

    • The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
    • It is stretched for over 2,300 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres.
    • The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
    • It was world heritage listed in 1981 by UNESCO as the most extensive and spectacular coral reef ecosystem on the planet.

    Why it is significant?

    • This is first such discovery in over 100 years.
    • The “blade-like” reef is nearly 500 metres tall and 1.5 kilometres wide.
    • It lies 40 metres below the ocean surface and about six kilometres from the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.

    Tap to read more about:

  • EOS-01 Satellite

    India would launch its latest earth observation satellite EOS-01 and nine international customer spacecraft onboard it’s PSLV-C49.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The term ‘IndARC’, sometimes seen in the news, is the name of:

    (a) An indigenously developed radar system inducted into Indian Defence

    (b) India’s satellite to provide services to the countries of Indian Ocean Rim

    (c) A scientific establishment set up by India in Antarctic region

    (d) India’s underwater observatory to scientifically study the Arctic region

    EOS-01

    • EOS-01 is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.
    • This is the first launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation since the COVID-19-induced lockdown came into force in March.
    • This will be the 51st mission of ISRO’s workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

    What is Earth Observation Satellite (EOS)?

    • An EOS or remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, cartography and others.
    • Starting with IRS-1A in 1988, ISRO has launched many operational remote sensing satellites.
    • Today, India has one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation.
    • Currently, *thirteen* operational satellites are in Sun-synchronous orbit and *four* in Geostationary orbit.
    • The data from these satellites are used for several applications covering agriculture, water resources, urban planning, rural development, mineral prospecting, environment, forestry, ocean resources and disaster management.

  • Species in news: Pelagornithids

    Scientists have identified the fossil of a giant bird that lived about 50 million years ago, with wingspans of up to 21 feet that would dwarf today’s largest bird, the wandering albatross.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The term “Sixth mass extinction/ sixth extinction is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of

    (a) Widespread monoculture practices in agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.

    (b) Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65 million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.

    (c) Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivation in other parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss of food biodiversity.

    (d) Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss of natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.

    Pelagornithids

    • Called Pelagornithids, the birds filled a niche much like that of today’s albatrosses and travelled widely over Earth’s oceans for at least 60 million years.
    • They are known as ‘bony-toothed’ birds because of the bony projections, or struts, on their jaws that resemble sharp-pointed teeth, though they are not true teeth, like those of humans and other mammals.
    • The bony protrusions were covered by a horny material, keratin, which is like our fingernails, the researchers said.
    • Called pseudoteeth, the struts helped the birds snag squid and fish from the sea as they soared for perhaps weeks at a time over much of Earth’s oceans, they said.

    Their extinction

    • The pelagornithids came along to claim the wingspan record in the Cenozoic, after the mass extinction and lived until about 2.5 million years ago. Around that same time, teratogens, now extinct, ruled the skies, they said.
    • The newly described fossil — a 50 million-year-old portion of a bird’s foot — shows that the larger Pelagornithids arose just afterlife rebounded from the mass extinction 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs, went extinct.
    • The last known pelagornithid is from 2.5 million years ago, a time of changing climate as Earth cooled, and the ice ages began.

  • Natural gas to come under GST

    Officials have indicated that the government is considering bringing natural gas under the ambit of the GST regime.

    Try this question from CSP 2018:

    Q.Consider the following items:

    1. Cereal grains hulled
    2. Chicken eggs cooked
    3. Fish processed and canned
    4. Newspapers containing advertising material

    Which of the above items is/are exempt under GST (Goods and Services Tax)?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1, 2 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Why such demands?

    • Global energy MNCs have called on the government to bring natural gas under the GST regime.
    • Currently petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas and crude oil fall outside India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

    Why is it important to bring natural gas under the GST regime?

    • Bringing natural gas under the GST would lead to a reduction in the cascading impact of taxes on industries such as power and steel, which used natural gas as an input.
    • This would do away with the central excise duty and different value-added taxes imposed by states.
    • This would lead to an increase in the adoption of natural gas in line with the government’s stated goal to increase the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket from 6.3% to 15%.

    Back2Basics: GST

    • GST launched in India on 1 July 2017 is a comprehensive indirect tax for the entire country.
    • It is charged at the time of supply and depends on the destination of consumption.
    • For instance, if a good is manufactured in state A but consumed in state B, then the revenue generated through GST collection is credited to the state of consumption (state B) and not to the state of production (state A).

    Must read:

    Goods and Services Tax