KANISHKBIOSCIENCE E -LEARNING PLATFORM - Help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically.
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China to build a major dam on Brahmaputra River:
Context:
Amid simmering border tension with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, China is planning to build a major hydropower project on Brahmaputra River in Tibet and a proposal for this has been clearly put forward in the 14th Five-Year Plan to be implemented from next year.
Response from India and Bangladesh:
Proposals for dams on the Brahmaputra have evoked concerns in India and Bangladesh, the riparian states, and China has downplayed such anxieties saying it would keep their interests in mind.
What are India’s concerns?
1 China’s dam building overdrive is a concern because there are no bilateral or multilateral treaties on the water.
2 China believes dam building on the Brahmaputra helps it assert claim over Arunachal Pradesh.
3 India believes China’s projects in the Tibetan plateau threaten to reduce river flows into India.
4 Dams, canals, irrigation systems can turn water into a political weapon to be wielded in war, or during peace to signal annoyance with a co-riparian state.
5 Denial of hydrological data becomes critical when the flow in the river is very high.
6 China is contemplating northward re-routing of the Yarlung Zangbo.
7 Diversion of the Brahmaputra is an idea China does not discuss in public, because it implies devastating India’s northeastern plains and Bangladesh, either with floods or reduced water flow.
Significance of Brahmaputra river for India:
The Brahmaputra flows for over 3,000km through Tibet, India and Bangladesh.
1 It is crucial for India too as its basin is a critical water source for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland and West Bengal.
2 The Brahmaputra valley supports the lives of several indigenous communities.
Prelims Link:
1 Countries through which Brahmaputra flows.
2 Dams constructed across Brahmaputra.
3 What is Brahmaputra called in China? Its tributaries.
4 Himalayan region through which this river pass.
Mains Link:
Discuss how China’s upstream activities along the Brahmaputra River have impacts on countries downstream and the ecology surrounding.
Sources: the Hindu.
Topics Covered: Important international organisations.
Islamic Cooperation countries (OIC):
Context:
India has lashed out at Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) (formerly Organization of the Islamic Conference) and rejected unwarranted references about Jammu & Kashmir made in resolutions adopted at the 47th Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) session.
India has said that OIC has “no locus standi in matters strictly internal to India, including that of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
About OIC:
1 It is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states.
2 It is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations.
3 The organisation states that it is “the collective voice of the Muslim world” and works to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony “.
The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union.
Permanent Secretariat is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Significance of OIC for India:
OIC’s growing economic and energy interdependence with India has become important in recent times.
1 OIC- objectives.
2 Functions.
3 Members.
4 Subsidiary organisations.
Sources: the Hindu.
Topics Covered: Important international institutions.
One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance:
Context:
Launched recently by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Composition:
1 This 20-member group comprises heads of states, current and former ministers of different countries, leaders from the private sector and civil society.
2 It is co-chaired by the prime ministers of Barbados and Bangladesh, Mia Mottley and Sheikh Hasina Wazed, respectively.
3 The heads of FAO, OIE and WHO are ex-officio members of the group.
Why was it created?
It seeks to catalyze global attention and action to preserve antimicrobial medicines and avert the disastrous consequences of antimicrobial resistance.
Functions of the group:
The group has to:
1 Monitor the global response to antimicrobial resistance.
2 Maintain public momentum.
3 Provide regular reports on the science and evidence related to AMR to the UN member states.
4 Advocate for the inclusion of AMR ‘lens’ in investments on agriculture, health, development, food and feed production.
5 Push for multi-stakeholder engagement on the issue.
Prelims Link:
1 What is Antibiotic resistance?
2 What are antibodies?
3 Milk production and consumption in India.
4 What are critically important antibiotics (CIAs)?
5 About the newly launched group.
Mains link:
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health challenges of 21st century. Examine why.
Sources: Down to Earth.
Topics Covered: Important international institutions.
One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance:
Context:
Launched recently by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Composition:
1 This 20-member group comprises heads of states, current and former ministers of different countries, leaders from the private sector and civil society.
2 It is co-chaired by the prime ministers of Barbados and Bangladesh, Mia Mottley and Sheikh Hasina Wazed, respectively.
3 The heads of FAO, OIE and WHO are ex-officio members of the group.
Why was it created?
It seeks to catalyze global attention and action to preserve antimicrobial medicines and avert the disastrous consequences of antimicrobial resistance.
Functions of the group:
The group has to:
1 Monitor the global response to antimicrobial resistance.
2 Maintain public momentum.
3 Provide regular reports on the science and evidence related to AMR to the UN member states.
4 Advocate for the inclusion of AMR ‘lens’ in investments on agriculture, health, development, food and feed production.
5 Push for multi-stakeholder engagement on the issue.
6 What is Antibiotic resistance?
7 What are antibodies?
8 Milk production and consumption in India.
9 What are critically important antibiotics (CIAs)?
10 About the newly launched group.
Mains link:
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health challenges of 21st century. Examine why.
Sources: Down to Earth.
The scientific objectives of Hayabusa2 mission are twofold:
- To characterize the asteroid from remote sensing observations (with multispectral cameras, near-infrared spectrometer, thermal infrared imager, laser altimeter) on a macroscopic scale
- To analyse the samples returned from the asteroid on a microscopic scale.
What is the significance of the mission?
Ryugu is a C-type asteroid – a relic from the early days of the Solar System. Scientists think that C-type asteroids contain both organic matter, and trapped water, and might have been responsible for bringing both to Earth, thereby providing the planet with the materials necessary for life to originate.
Prelims Link:
1 About Hayabusa Mission.
2 Objectives of Hayabusa2 mission.
3 Asteroid Ryugu.
Mains Link:
Discuss the significance of the Mission.
Sources: India Today.
Topics Covered: Indigenization of technology.
Dry Swab-Direct RT-PCR method:
Context:
To ramp up COVID-19 testing, ICMR approves dry swab-direct RT-PCR method.
It has been Developed by CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).
First, let us understand how the conventional method works?
In the conventional testing method, nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab samples collected are generally placed in a liquid called Viral Transport Medium (VTM).
To avoid leakage, they are packed heavily that adds on to sample processing times at both the sample collection and testing centres.
What is Dry Swab-Direct RT-PCR method?
1 This is a simple variation of the existing gold standard RT-PCR method.
2 This method involves collecting and transporting the nasal swab in dry state which makes the transportation and handling of the samples easy and less prone to spillage and spread of infection.
3 In this method, the step of RNA isolation from the sample has been omitted, and it involves only simple processing of the sample followed by direct RT-PCR using the kit recommended by the ICMR.
Benefits:
1 Cost effective.
2 Easy to implement with no requirement of new kits.
3 Existing manpower can perform this with no additional training.
4 Can ramp up the testing capacity in the country quickly
Prelims Link:
1 Difference between RNA and DNA.
2 Differences between RT PCR and antibody tests.
3 What is a RNA virus? How it survives?
4 What are antibodies?
5 What is dry swab test?
Mains Link:
Discuss the significance of dry swab RT- PCR test.
Sources: PIB.
Facts for Prelims:
Mount Ili Lewotolok:
Why in News? Erupted recently.
Location: It is a volcano located in eastern Indonesia erupts.
The 5,423-meter (17,790-foot) mountain is one of the three currently erupting in Indonesia along with Merapi on Java Island and Sinabung on Sumatra Island.
Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA):
It is a “not–for–profit” Section-8 Public Private Partnership (PPP) company.
It is promoted jointly by the Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Functions: The GITA platform encourages industrial investments in innovative technology solutions by Mapping technology gaps, Undertaking expert evaluation of technologies available across the globe, Facilitating techno–strategic collaborative partnerships appropriate for Indian economy and Providing soft funding for technology development / acquisition / deployment.
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