Science and Technology Set 2

 

 

CIVIL SERVICES (MAINS)EXAMINATION (Paper III) 2024 Model Questions

 

TSPSC GROUP – 1 MAINS EXAM (Paper IV), 2024

 

(Prepared on 10.9.2024 )

 

 

                                                                                           Prepared by :

Praturi Potayya Sarma MA,LLB,PGDIRP

 

 

GENERAL STUDIES / Model Questions based on (Current Affairs)  

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY TOPICS

 

 

 

QUESTIONS ON ‘ECOCIDE’

Question: 1) What is  ‘Maya train’ project ?

Ans:

1)Mexico’s ‘Maya train’ project has acquired a contradictory reputation. Some describe it as a “Pharaonic project”, with a route spanning 1,525 km, connecting tourists in the Caribbean with historic Maya sites and costing $20 billion to build.

2)It has also been described as a “megaproject of death” because it imperils the Yucatán peninsula and its rich wilderness, ancient cave systems, and Indigenous communities.

3)The Tribunal for the Rights of Nature  said the project caused “crimes of ecocide and ethnocide”.

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Question: 2) What is ‘Ecocide’?

 

Ans :

1)Ecocide, derived from Greek and Latin, translates to “killing one’s home” or “environment”.

2)Such ‘killing’ could include port expansion projects that destroy fragile marine life and local livelihoods; deforestation; illegal sand-mining; and polluting rivers with untreated sewage. Mexico is one of several countries mulling ecocide legislation.

3)There is also a push to elevate ecocide to the ranks of an international crime, warranting similar legal scrutiny as genocide.

 

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Question : 3)Who coined the term ‘Ecocide’?

Ans :

1)The biologist Arthur Galston in 1970 is credited with first linking environmental destruction with genocide, which is recognised as an international crime, when referring to the U.S. military’s use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.

2)Two years later, Sweden Prime Minister Olof Palme used the term in a speech at the U.N. British lawyer Polly Higgins became the linchpin when in 2010 she urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to recognise ecocide as an international crime.

3)Today, the Rome Statute of the ICC deals with four atrocities: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. The provision on war crimes is the only statute that can hold a perpetrator responsible for environmental damage, but only if it is intentional and in wartime.

4)Ms. Higgins proposed that the Statute should be amended to treat crimes against nature on par with crimes against people. She described ecocide thus: “Extensive loss, damage to or destruction of ecosystems … such that the peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants has been or will be severely diminished.” Here, “inhabitants” applies to all living creatures.

5)There is no accepted legal definition of ecocide, but a panel of lawyers in June 2021 for the Stop Ecocide Foundation prepared a 165-word articulation. Ecocide, they proposed, constitutes the “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.”

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Question: 4)Give details about ‘Ecocide’?

1)Ecocide is a crime in 11 countries, with 27 others considering laws to criminalise environmental damage that is wilfully caused and harms humans, animals, and plants.

2)The European Parliament voted unanimously this year to enshrine ecocide in law. Most national definitions penalise “mass destruction of flora and fauna”, “poisoning the atmosphere or water resources” or “deliberate actions capable of causing an ecological disaster.”

3)The ICC and Ukraine’s public prosecutor are also investigating Russia’s role in the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, which unleashed a flood that drowned 40 regions, and released oils and toxic fluids into the Black Sea.

4)On one level, ecocide laws are legal instruments to plug a loophole in environmental protection. “None of the existing international criminal laws protect the environment as an end in itself, and that’s what the crime of ecocide does,” Philippe Sands, a professor of international law at University College London and co-chair of the panel that drafted the definition, said in 2021.

5)The movement also responds to harsh climate realities. Over a third of the earth’s animal and plant species could be extinct by 2050. Unprecedented heat waves have broken records worldwide. Changing rainfall schemes have disrupted flood and drought patterns. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reiterated in March 2023 that global climate action remains “insufficient”.

 

 

Question :5)What are the  discussions about ‘ecocide’?

Ans :

1)In this milieu, an amendment to the Rome Statute could prompt countries around the world to draft their own laws, and individual countries that have incorporated ecocide in their laws could in turn build pressure on the ICC.

2) An expert in environmental constitutionalism, told that the purpose of ecocide laws is to define the “significant harm” of environmental damage, together with accountability and liability. Deforestation of the Amazon, deep-sea trawling or even the catastrophic 1984 Bhopal gas disaster could have been avoided with ecocide laws in place, according to Stop Ecocide International.

3)These laws could also hold individuals at the helms of corporations accountable. “That something is morally questionable usually doesn’t hinder investment. Laws provide boundaries and sanctions for investment, as no company or organisation – such as the World Bank – would want to invest in something potentially criminal,” two scholars wrote in a 2021 article.

4)Ecocide laws could also double up as calls for justice for low- and middle-income countries disproportionately affected by climate change. Small nation-states like Vanuatu and Barbuda are already lobbying the ICC to declare crimes against the environment to be violations of international law.

 

Question: 6)What are the limitations of defining the ‘ecocide’?

Ans :

1)There are also many arguments against criminalising ecocide. Some experts have called the 2021 definition ambiguous and as setting a very low threshold to implicating an entity. Words like “long-term” or “widespread damage” are abstract and leave room for misinterpretation, Prof. Siddiqui said.

2)The definition describes “wanton” as damage that is “clearly excessive in relation to the social and economic benefits anticipated.” But this, she continued, constructs a development-versus-environment narrative – one that others have argued could mean that it is ‘okay’ to destroy the environment as long as it benefits humans.

3)The threshold to prove ‘ecocide’ may also be too high. Countries like Belarus and Moldova specify “intentional” or “deliberate” destruction, but “environmental disasters are not caused intentionally or deliberately,” an international law professor, argued in an article. “This wording … may have the effect of limiting, if not excluding, the liability of corporations’ top managers’ and Governments’ officials’.”

4)The ICC also has limited legal powers as well as an uneven track record of converting prosecutions into convictions. Specifically, the court’s power is limited to “natural persons,” so without any significant changes, the ICC will not be unable to hold corporate entities criminally liable.

5)Moreover, an expert asked, “even if you’re able to define ecocide, how will you define the idea of jurisdiction?” Experts have noted that most ‘crimes’ are transnational in nature: corporations have private or State-owned corporations in other countries (which are not members of the Rome Statute) that are responsible for polluting activities. For example, Coca-Cola was accused of poisoning land in South India with waste sludge and pushing thousands of farmers out of work by draining the water that fed their wells.

 

Question:7)What is the stand on ‘ecocide’ in India?

Ans :

1)Some Indian judgments have affirmed the legal personhood of nature by recognising rivers as legal entities with the right to maintain their spirit, identity, and integrity.

2)More importantly, some others have used the term ‘ecocide’ in passing but the concept hasn’t fully materialised in law.

3)In Chandra CFS and Terminal Operators Pvt. Ltd. v. The Commissioner of Customs and Ors (2015), the Madras High Court noted: “the prohibitory activities of ecocide has been continuing unbridledly by certain section of people by removing the valuable and precious timbers”.

4)In an ongoing case, T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union Of India & Ors, the Supreme Court called attention to an “anthropogenic bias” and argued that “environmental justice could be achieved only if we drift away from the principle of anthropocentric to ecocentric” – echoing an argument advanced by many activists, that criminalising ecocide could replace the anthropocentric legal view with a value for nature as a thing unto itself.

5)India’s legislative framework vis-à-vis environmental and ecological governance includes the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986, the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act (CAMPA) 2016, as well as separate Rules to prevent air and water pollution. According to an expert, these separate laws have to be consolidated into a unified code and institutions have to be streamlined so that debates like the one about ecocide and rights of nature find “their proper way through legal channels”.

 

Question: 8) Sand mining on the banks of rivers is causing floods? Comment.

Ans :

1)Notably, the National Green Tribunal, India’s apex environmental statutory body, does not have the jurisdiction to hear matters related to the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, the Indian Forest Act 1927, and other State-enacted laws.

2)As a result, mining of sand on the banks of the Chambal river or the Himachal floods would qualify as being environmental crimes under the current articulation but, an expert said, “how would one go about addressing this, considering the institutions in the way?”

3)Indian laws are themselves in a state of conflict: the Parliament passed the controversial Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill 2023 and Biodiversity (Amendment) Bill 2023, which experts have said will dilute current legal protections and will lead to the loss of 20-25% of forest area in the country and the attendant biodiversity and ecosystem issues.

4)It is noted that one critical challenge is to tackle problems of liability and compensation – an example of the “friction between committing to environmental protection and actual action.” For example, survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster are still fighting for compensation. The disaster’s aftermath has been characterised by an intergenerational impact on health and widespread contamination of soil and groundwater.

5)Several independent investigations have also alleged that funds earmarked for CAMPA have been misused and/or diverted for other purposes. But despite the National Green Tribunal having slapped fines worth Rs 28,180 crore on seven States, there is little clarity on the total fines collected and the way they were used, according to a 2022 report

6)“Even before ecocide laws come up internationally, India needs to first bring its [environmental] laws in tune with the idea of ecocide,”

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Question: 9) Give details about  ‘Ecocide’?

Ans :

1)Ecocide or ‘killing one’s home’ or ‘environment’ refers to acts like port expansion projects, deforestation, illegal sand mining, polluting rivers and releasing untreated sewage, etc., that destroy fragile natural ecosystems and local livelihoods.

2)Mexico is the latest country to consider passing a law to make ecocide a crime.

3)The bill was proposed by a congresswoman from Nuevo Leon, Karina Marlen Barrón Perales (PRI) on July 30 as a consequence of the ‘Maya Train Project’ which would cover 1,525 km and connect tourists in the Caribbean with Maya sites.

4)The project would threaten the biodiversity of the Yucatan peninsula and the culture of its ethnic communities.

5)Countries that have criminalised ecocide include Vietnam, Ukraine and Russia.

6)Ukraine’s public prosecutor is investigating a possible case of ecocide against Russia for the Kakhovka dam breach where earlier , an explosion destroyed the dam where vast amounts of polluted water was unleashed downstream along the Dnipro river, flooding dozens of settlements, killing dolphins at an alarming rate and making farmlands unusable.

7)In France, carcinogen chemical trichloroethylene was detected by a resident of Grézieu-La-Varenne in 2019 who found a foul-smelling liquid in her backyard which was 800 times the legally acceptable limit.

8)Alongside the criminal trial for ‘ecocide’, six civil lawsuits have also been filed by residents which found two solicitors and one real estate company guilty.

9)In Brazil, the Socialism and Liberty Party put an ecocide bill to congress in June after merciless deforestation of the Amazon rainforest continued to batter the natural environment.

10)Around March 2023, the European parliament supported the inclusion of ecocide-level crimes into the EU’s revised environmental crimes directive. If this passes through the legislative process, then member states will be required to make ecocide a crime through national law.

11)While causing damage to the environment is already a crime in most countries, recognition of ecocide elevates the most abominable cases to a crime.

12)In 2021, a panel of criminal and environmental lawyers from around the world created a legal definition for “ecocide” which is part of an ongoing effort by NGO Stop Ecocide to add environmental damage to the list of international crimes at the International Criminal Court.

13)The consequences of environmental damage are listed in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023, where climate change and biodiversity collapse are one of the top five risks facing the world in the coming decade.

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Quesiton: 10) Where is Kakhovka dam? Why it is in news ?

Ans :

1)Ukraine :  the Kakhovka dam

2) An explosion destroyed the  Kakhovka dam where vast amounts of polluted water was unleashed downstream along the Dnipro river, flooding dozens of settlements, killing dolphins at an alarming rate and making farmlands unusable

 

3)Ukraine : Dnipro river

 

 

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Questions on FCA

 

Question: 11) On August 22,2023 the Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, “to protect the rights and interest of the people of Mizoram”. Give your views on it ?

Ans :

1)The amendment allows the diversion of forest land for roads, railway lines or “strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security” within 100 km of India’s international borders or lines of control, without a forest clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA) 1980.

2)Most of India’s Northeast falls in this 100 km range.

3) Nagaland Assembly may also face strident demands to pass a resolution against the Amendment.

4)Tripura, Mizoram, and Sikkim — ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its allies — have also opposed the 100-km exemption clause.

5)Special constitutional protections, such as Article 371A for Nagaland and 371G for Mizoram, prohibit the application of any law enacted by Parliament that impinges on Naga and Mizo customary law and procedure, and ownership and transfer of land and its resources. Such laws can be extended to these States only if their Legislative Assemblies decide thus in a resolution.

6)In 1986, Nagaland extended the application of the FCA “to government forests and such other forests and Wildlife Sanctuaries under the control of [the] State Government”. Government forests make up only 2.71% of the State’s Recorded Forest Area. However, in December 1997, the Home Ministry, in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Justice, confirmed to the Union Environment Ministry that the FCA is covered under the term “land resources” and is not applicable to Nagaland, as its Legislative Assembly had not adopted any resolution to apply FCA to the State. Later, in November 1998, the Environment Ministry contradicted itself, when it informed the Nagaland government that FCA is indeed applicable to the State as clarified by the Ministry of Law and Justice. Nevertheless, since 1980, the Environment Ministry has not granted an FCA clearance to forests in Nagaland.

7)This is not so with Mizoram. In 1986, the Union Territory became a State with the 53rd amendment of the Constitution, adding Article 371G to the Constitution. It stipulated that all Central Acts in force before 1986 are extended to the State, including the FCA. Moreover, the powers of the Autonomous District Councils in the three Sixth Scheduled areas in Mizoram don’t extend to reserved forests. So, the FCA covers 84.53% of forest areas that are notified forests, and 6,630 ha have thus far received FCA clearance.

8)Moreover, the FCA is applicable in the rest of the Northeast — in Meghalaya and Tripura, the Sixth Schedule Areas within these States, and in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Manipur. Arunachal Pradesh ranked first among these States in FCA clearance (21,786.45 ha), followed by Tripura (9,051 ha), Assam (5,261 ha), Manipur (3,604 ha), Sikkim (2,902 ha), and Meghalaya (807 ha).

 

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Question: 12)What is RFA (Recorded Forest Area)? Give details.

Ans :

1)Over a million hectares of forest have been diverted nationwide under FCA since 1980.

2)FCA exists to deforest the forest, under the Indian Forest Act 1927 or its State versions.

3) In 1996, the Supreme Court expanded the term “forest land” in the FCA in the Godavarman case to “not only include ‘forest’ as understood in the dictionary sense, but also any area recorded as forest in the Government record irrespective of the ownership”, thus extending the FCA to unclassed forests. These are recorded forests but not notified as forests.

4)More than half of the Northeast is Recorded Forest Area (RFA). Of this, 53% are unclassed forests controlled by individuals, clans, village councils or communities, and governed by customary law and procedures. The remainder is notified forest controlled by State Forest Departments.

5)RFA ranges from 34.21% in Assam to 82.31% in Sikkim with Mizoram having 35.48%, Meghalaya 42.34%, Nagaland 53.01%, Arunachal Pradesh 61.55%, Manipur 78.01% and Tripura 60.02%. Of these, unclassed forests range from nil in Sikkim to 97.29% in Nagaland, with 15.47% in Mizoram, 33.43% in Assam, 42.96% in Tripura, 75.67% in Manipur and 88.15% in Meghalaya.

6)The apex court’s 1996 order brought unclassed forests under the FCA’s purview everywhere. There are also forests outside RFA, neither recorded nor surveyed — 38.5% of the forest in Assam; 29% in Nagaland; and 1.5% in Mizoram.

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Question:13) Forest Rights Act (FRA Act)(Forest land includes……?……….) :

Ans :

 

1)In the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA) 2006, “forest land” includes unclassified forests, undemarcated forests, existing or deemed forests, protected forests, reserved forests, Sanctuaries and National Parks. This complied with the 1996 Supreme Court redefinition.

2)While this benefits most northeastern States, due to the sizeable unclassed forests, the FRA also included a specific provision in the list of rights: “rights which are recognised under any state law or laws of any autonomous district council or autonomous regional council or which are accepted as rights of tribal under any traditional or customary law of the concerned tribes of any State.”

3)Nothing prevents these States from taking suo motu cognisance of these existing rights and obtaining the concerned Gram Sabha approvals for issuing titles.

4)The Ministry of Tribal Affairs can also issue legally enforceable directions under Section 12 of the FRA, paving the way for this. It would add another layer of legal security to traditional community tenurial rights over forests.

5)However, none of the Northeast States have implemented FRA except for Assam and Tripura. The reasons include the FRA being ‘irrelevant’ as communities, clans, chiefs and individuals own most of the land, that their rights are already being enjoyed and a lack of forest-dwellers who are totally forest dependent.

6)While the Mizoram Legislative Assembly resolved on October 29, 2009, under Article 371G, to extend the FRA and its Rules with effect from December 31, 2009, it did a U-turn on November 19, 2019, declaring the FRA to not be relevant to the State since no claims for rights were forthcoming. It also referred to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs declining to sanction ₹10 lakh to implement the FRA.

7)The Nagaland Assembly, as required under Article 371A, is yet to decide whether it wants this law. A committee has been looking into it for years now.

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Question: 14) For protection of forests which is  to be done?

Ans :

1)The Environment Ministry mandated FRA implementation and prior informed consent of the Gram Sabha in 2009 to admit a forest diversion proposal.

2)The responsibility was delegated to the District Collector, who ironically also headed the District Committee that issues FRA titles. The Collectors’ certificate of FRA compliance in the in-principle Stage I forest clearance was shifted to Stage II final clearance.

3)But the Ministry’s 2022 Forest Conservation Rules eliminated compliance with the FRA before final approval altogether. Instead, it said that State governments “shall issue order for diversion, assignment of lease or dereservation as the case may be … after fulfillment and compliance” with the FRA “including ensuring settlement of rights”.

4)Taking this further, States can formulate and take legal measures to ensure mandatory fulfillment of the FRA before recommending a forest diversion proposal, and ensuring Gram Sabha consent before handing over forest land.

5)The Ministry of Tribal Affairs can also issue legally enforceable directions under the FRA, or even enact a separate law, to recognise and settle forest rights when forests are diverted for other purposes and forest-dwellers are relocated, as forest rights fall squarely within its Business Rules. This way, the States and the Tribal Affairs Ministry have a way to provide tenurial security to forest-dwellers and protect the forests.

 

 

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QUESTIONS RELATING TO GNO

 

Question: 15) Give details about  Global Nuclear Order (GNO):

Ans :

1)To gain legitimacy, any global order needs to fulfil two conditions. First, a convergence among the major powers of the day, and, second, successfully presenting the outcome as a global public good to the rest of the world. The global nuclear order (GNO) was no exception but, today, it is under strain.

2)The GNO was created in the shadow of the Cold War, with the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., leading the western and the Socialist blocs, respectively.

 

Question : 16) What is  Cuban Missile Crisis ?

Ans :

1)Following the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when the two came perilously close to launching a nuclear war, both U.S. President John F. Kennedy and General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev understood two political realities. First, as the two nuclear superpowers, they needed bilateral mechanisms to prevent tensions from escalating to the nuclear level. And, second, nuclear weapons are dangerous and, therefore, their spread should be curbed. This convergence created the GNO.

2)During the Cuban crisis, a secret back-channel between President Kennedy’s brother, Robert Kennedy and Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin, helped resolve the crisis. The first bilateral measure was the hotline, established in 1963, to enable the leaders to communicate directly. The hotline (later upgraded into nuclear risk reduction centers) was followed by arms control negotiations as the two nuclear superpowers sought to manage their nuclear arms race and maintain strategic stability.

3)To control proliferation, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. initiated multilateral negotiations in Geneva in 1965 on a treaty to curb the spread of nuclear weapons. Three years later, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) opened for signature. It began modestly with less than 60 parties but today, it is widely described as the cornerstone of the global nuclear order with 191 adherents.

 

Question: 17)Give details about  GNO and NPT ?

Ans :

1)The third element of the global nuclear order came into existence in 1975.

2)India had chosen not to sign the NPT, and in 1974, stunned the world by conducting an underground peaceful nuclear explosive, or PNE. Seven countries (the U.S., U.S.S.R, U.K., Canada, France, Japan, and West Germany) held a series of meetings in London and concluded that ad hoc export controls were urgently needed to ensure that nuclear technology, transferred for peaceful purposes, not be used for PNEs.

3)The London Club (as it was originally known) sounded inappropriate and later transformed into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, consisting of 48 countries today, which observe common guidelines for exporting nuclear and related dual-use materials, equipment, and technologies.

4) Though the Soviet Union and India enjoyed close relations, having signed the Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty in 1971, the USSR was committed to upholding the GNO, and a founding member of the London Club.

5)The GNO has held reasonably well, particularly on two fronts. First, the taboo against nuclear weapons has held since 1945. It is a matter of debate how far the U.S.-USSR arms control process helped preserve the taboo or whether it was just plain luck, but the fact is that humanity has survived 75 years of the nuclear age without blowing itself up.Second, non-proliferation has been a success.

6)Despite dire predictions of more than 20 countries possessing nuclear weapons by the 1970s, (there were five in 1968 – the U.S., U.S.S.R., U.K., France, and China), only four countries have since gone nuclear, i.e., India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan. Even after the Cold War ended, non-proliferation remained a shared objective and Moscow and Washington cooperated to ensure that Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan that hosted Soviet nuclear weapons and possessed some capabilities, were denuclearised. In 1995, the NPT, originally concluded for 25 years, was extended into perpetuity.

 

 

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QUESTION ON  GREEN MINERALS

Question: 18) Which are called as  ‘Green Minerals’ (minerals of the future)?

Ans :

1)Ghana on August 7, 2023 approved a new policy for the exploitation, management and regulation of lithium and other green minerals in the country, to keep pace with the rising global demand for minerals  critical for transitioning to clean energy.

2)The policy provides clear guidelines and a fiscal regime for mining so-called green minerals, in a manner that ensures Ghana derives as much benefit as possible from its resources. 

3)It insists on a higher level of local participation in the green minerals value chain as opposed to the 10 per cent vested interest the state had currently in mining entities, said Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.

4)The principle that formed the basis of the policy is that exploitation of green minerals must benefit Ghanaians who were the true owners of the resource

5)Often referred to as “minerals of the future”, green minerals are metals and other mineral resources that are needed to support the transition to clean energy technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions. These include — bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, granite, manganese and nickel.

 

Question: 19) Which of the following are known as Green Minerals?

Ans :

1) Often referred to as “minerals of the future”, green minerals are metals and other mineral resources that are needed to support the transition to clean energy technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

2)These include — bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, granite, manganese and nickel.

 

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QUESTIONS ON OMICRAN SUBVARIANT  JN .1. and “Flip” mutation

Question: 20) What is omicron subvariant JN.1?

Ans :

1)The omicron subvariant JN.1. is likely to soon become the dominant lineage of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide, according to researchers at the University of Tokyo.

2)The subvariant has a mutation in its spike protein, L455S, also called a “FLip” mutation.

3)Experts said that a dominant strain need not necessarily indicate that it is more dangerous, as it is the nature of the virus to mutate.

4)On December 18, 2023, JN.1, was designated a separate variant of interest (VOI) after a rapid surge in recent weeks.

5) JN.1 is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage, which first emerged in August 2023. 

6) BA.2.86 carries more than 30 mutations in the spike protein. It is distinct from the other omicron XBB lineages, such as EG.5.1 and HK.3 currently in circulation.

 

Question: 21) Which are  “Flip” mutations ?

Ans :

1)JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) evolved out of BA.2.86 in late 2023. Besides L455S in its spike protein, JN.1 is identical to BA.2.86. Similarly, the EG.5 sublineage variant HK.3 acquired the L455F mutation.

2)L455S and L455F are called “FLip” mutations because they switch the positions of amino acids F and L on the spike protein, increasing their transmissibility.

3)Another example of the “FLip” mutation is F456L, which was found in several XBB descendant strains developed this year, such as XBB.1.5.10, FE.1, and FD.1.1.

4)Researchers at Peking University in Beijing ascertained in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, “With just one additional receptor binding domain mutation (L455S) compared to its predecessor BA.2.86, the JN.1 variant rapidly became predominant in France, surpassing both BA.2.86 and the so-called FLip (L455F+F456L) strains.”

5)Towards the end of November 2023, JN.1 surpassed HK.3 in France and Spain. 

 

Question: 22) Give details about ACE2 ?

Ans :

1)A single F456L or L455F substitution dampens the receptor binding capacity of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). 

2)ACE2 is a protein found in the epithelial cells in different parts of the body, such as the lungs, heart, and kidneys.

3)SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2 as an entry point through the virus’ spike-like protein on its surface. 

4)When either XBB.1.5+F456L or BA.2.86 + S: L455S are added, there is a much stronger binding to ACE2 and less protection against natural antibodies.

 

Question: 23)Write  about reproductive number (Re) of the Omicron subvariant JN.1 ?

 

Ans :

1)The effective reproductive number (Re) of the omicron subvariant JN.1 in France, the United Kingdom and Spain is higher than other new variants (BA.2.86.1 and HK.3) with a growth advantage. Researchers at the University of Tokyo used a Bayesian multinomial logistic model to study the virology of the subvariant virus.

2)The Re refers to the number of potential new infections that could spread through an infectious individual in a population. It is an estimate used to gauge the transmissibility of a virus in an epidemic. 

3)It appears that the virus could potentially evade vaccination. Another study by BIOPIC studied individuals recovering after XBB infections. One cohort had 27 participants who experienced post-vaccination XBB breakthrough infections and another had patients reinfected with XBB after BA.5 or BF.7 breakthrough infections. Compared to BA.2.86, JN.1 displayed a significantly enhanced ability to evade immunity.

 

4)“JN.1’s continued growth suggests that the variant is either more transmissible or better at evading our immune systems than other circulating variants. It is too early to know whether or to what extent JN.1 will cause an increase in infections or hospitalisations,” the CDC said.

5)Despite the upsurge, globally, EG.5 remains the most reported VOI  but has shown declining trends over the past few weeks. 

 

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QUESTIONS ON ‘MAPUTO PROTOCOL’

 

 

Question : 24) Write note on ‘Maputo Protocol’?

 

 

 

1)There has been some progress on gender equality in African countries thanks to the Maputo Protocol, but it has been uneven, according to a new report.

2)The Protocol is considered one of the world’s most progressive legal frameworks for women’s rights and was launched 20 years ago.

3)A group of civil society organisations, Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition; Human rights organisation Equality Now and advocacy platform Make Every Woman Count released the landmark report, 20 Years of the Maputo Protocol: Where are we now? On July 13, 2023. 

4)In July 2003, the African Union (AU) adopted the Maputo Protocol. Of the 55 member states, 44 have ratified or acceded to the Protocol on gender equality, becoming one of the most ratified instruments in the AU, the analysis stated.

5)But despite these efforts, full domestication of the Protocol provisions into national legislature has, in many cases, been slow or ineffective. Some African States are yet to ratify or accede to the Protocol, said the report. 

6)The Protocol has a target of universal ratification in Africa by 2028. However, with just five years until the target year, there are still 12 countries that are yet to ratify this important legal instrument.

 

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QUESTION ON NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY, 2023

 

 

Question: 25) Who got Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 (quantum dots , nanoparticles) ?

Ans :

1)The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties.

 

2)These smallest components of nanotechnology (quantum dots , nanoparticles) now spread their light from televisions and LED lamps, and can also guide surgeons when they remove tumour tissue, among many other things.

 

3)Everyone who studies chemistry learns that an element’s properties are governed by how many electrons it has. However, when matter shrinks to nano-dimensions quantum phenomena arise; these are governed by the size of the matter.

 

4)The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2023 have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are called quantum dots, are now of great importance in nanotechnology.

 

 

Question: 26)What is  Quantum dots ?

Ans :

1)“Quantum dots have many fascinating and unusual properties.

 

2)Importantly, they have different colours depending on their size” .

 

3)Physicists had long known that in theory size-dependent quantum effects could arise in nanoparticles, but at that time it was almost impossible to sculpt in nanodimensions.

 

4) Therefore, few people believed that this knowledge would be put to practical use. However, in the early 1980s, Alexei Ekimov succeeded in creating size-dependent quantum efects in coloured glass. The colour came from nanoparticles of copper chloride and Ekimov demonstrated that the particle size affected the colour of the glass via quantum effects.

 

 

5)A few years later, Louis Brus was the first scientist in the world to prove size-dependent quantum effects in particles floating freely in a fluid.

 

6) In 1993, Moungi Bawendi revolutionised the chemical production of quantum dots, resulting in almost perfect particles. This high quality was necessary for them to be utilised in applications.

 

7)Quantum dots now illuminate computer monitors and television screens based on QLED technology. They also add nuance to the light of some LED lamps, and biochemists and doctors use them to map biological tissue.

 

8)Quantum dots are thus bringing the greatest benefit to humankind. Researchers believe that in the future they could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication – so we have just started exploring the potential of these tiny particles.

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QUESTIONS ON XPoSat SATELLITE

 

 

Question: 27) Write a note on  XPOSAT Satellite and (POEM-3 expereiment) ?

Ans :

1)ISRO's PSLV-C58 has launched XPOSAT Satellite into an Eastward low inclination orbit on January 01, 2024 09:10 Hrs IST.

2)After injection of XPOSAT, the PS4 stage will be re-started twice to reduce the orbit into 350 km circular orbit to maintain in 3-axis stabilized mode for Orbital Platform (OP) experiments.

3) The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) experiment will be executed meeting the objective of 10 identified payloads, supplied by ISRO and IN-SPACe.

 

Question: 28) Which experimens XPoSat will carry out ?

Ans :

1)XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) is the first dedicated scientific satellite from ISRO to carry out research in space-based polarisation measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources.

2) The Satellite configuration is modified from the IMS-2 bus platform.

3)The Configuration of the mainframe systems are derived based on the heritage of IRS satellites. It carries two payloads namely POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing).

4) POLIX is realized by Raman Research Institute and XSPECT is by Space Astronomy Group of URSC.

 

Question: 29) What are the objectives of  EXpoSat  mission ?

Ans :

1)To measure polarisation of X-rays in the energy band 8-30keV emanating from about 50 potential cosmic sources through Thomson Scattering by POLIX payload.

2)To carry out long term spectral and temporal studies of cosmic X-ray sources in the energy band 0.8-15keV by XSPECT payload.

3)To carry out polarisation and spectroscopic measurements of X-ray emissions from cosmic sources by POLIX and XSPECT payloads respectively in the common energy band.

 

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QUESTIONS ON CIRCULATION OF WATER

 

 

Question: 30) Write note on  Circulation of Water / water cycles ?

Ans :

1)The circulation of water in the Earth-Atmosphere system has been significantly impacted by climate change and human activities, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

2)The effect on the hydrological cycle are leading to droughts and extreme rainfall events and the erratic water cycles unleashed widespread disruption, burdening livelihoods and economies.

3)The ongoing melting of snow, ice and glaciers compounded the threat, exacerbating the risk of extreme weather events such as floods. These events cast long-term consequences on the water security of millions.

The findings of the report are critical, as nearly four billion people are already experiencing severe water scarcity for at least a month every year.

 

Question: 31) Which is called as  Asian Water Tower (AWT) (Third Pole, just like North Pole and South Pole ) ?

Ans :

 

1)The Asian Water Tower (AWT), the world’s largest reservoir of ice and snow after the Arctic and Antarctic regions, saw significant glacial melting in 2022.

 

2)This altered the natural downward flow of major rivers — the Indus, Amu Darya, Yangtze and Yellow River — in the region, the document pointed out.

 

3)AWT covers the Third Pole, which includes the Tibetan Plateau, the Himalayas, the Karakorum, the Hindu Kush, the Pamirs and the Tien Shan Mountains.

 

4)The increasing pace of glacial melting in AWT, which provides a reliable water supply to almost two billion people, highlighted the deepening influence of climate change on regional water resources.

 

 

Question: 32)Consider the following abut glaciers and ice cover. What are the changes happening in these areas ?  

Ans :

1)“Glaciers and ice cover are retreating before our eyes. 2)Rising temperatures have accelerated — and also disrupted — the water cycle”

 

3)“A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. We are seeing much heavier precipitation episodes and flooding. And at the opposite extreme, more evaporation, dry soils and more intense droughts,”

 

4)The risks of such glacial events were evident in India as well. North Sikkim witnessed devastating glacial lake outburst floods after the South Lhonak Lake burst on October 4, 2023.

5)From 2000-2018, the total glacier mass in the AWT decreased by approximately 4.3 per cent. This led to a significant reduction in snow cover, shortening the snowmelt season. The number, total area and volume of glacier lakes have increased rapidly as a whole, pushing the lake’s water by approximately 16 per cent of the total volume, said the report.

 

Question: 33)Write note on snow cover in the Alps ?

Ans :

1)The snow cover in the Alps remained well below the 30-year average during the 2023 spring despite late snowfalls in May, as observed in the basins feeding the four major rivers — Rhine, Rhone, Danube and Po.

2)The situation was more severe in the Po River, where water levels were seven feet lower than usual, according to media reports.

3)Five regions in Italy were under a drought emergency as the region faced the highest drought severity in 2022.

 

Question: 34) “The volume of water flowing through the rivers was lower than the normal. In 2022, over 50 per cent of the global catchment areas experienced deviations from normal river discharge conditions.” Write a note on it in the context of SDG 6 and 13?

Ans :

In Europe, the flow of rivers has decreased in summer owing to a major heatwave, drought and La Nina.

El Nino in 2023, the hydrological cycle is likely to be impacted further  warned the document.

 

The   Horn of Africa experienced severe drought, affecting 21 million people’s food security. As a result, the volume of water in rivers flowing through the region was below the normal in 2022.

 

The Congo River and the entire catchment of the Nile River in Central Africa exhibited reduced river discharge.

 

As rivers dried up, the impacts were also visible across water reservoirs. Over 60 per cent of major water reservoirs saw below or normal inflow. This challenges water availability in an increasingly changing climate.

However, a smaller proportion of basins exhibited above-normal and much-above-normal conditions, said the document. This was evident from the cases from Africa mentioned in the report.

Areas like the Niger Basin and coastal areas of South Africa saw above-average discharge and major flood events in 2022.

For instance, the catastrophic floods and landslides in the provinces of   KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape after the country witnessed exceptionally heavy rainfall in 2022.

Given such contrasting and overwhelming water-related disasters, including drought and floods, water management and monitoring lies at the heart of the global Early Warnings For All initiative that ensures everyone on Earth is protected by early warnings by 2027.

“Many countries targeted for priority action in Early Warnings for All suffered from major floods or droughts in 2022 and no country had timely and accurate hydrological data available to support evidence-based decision-making and early action” .

Mid-way to 2030, when the world is far off from achieving sustainable development goal (SDG) 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, the report’s findings contribute towards informed decision-making relevant to the Sustainable development goals.

The report emphasised SDG 13 (climate adaptation) by focusing on climate-related impacts on water systems and calling for mitigation actions.