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.
TOPIC 3,1
Government exploring setting up bad bank, all other options:
Context:
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has published a draft notification and invited comments from the public for adoption of E20 fuel as an automobile fuel.
E20 fuel is a blend of 20% of ethanol and gasoline.
Present status:
The current permissible level of blending is 10% of ethanol though India reached only 5.6% of blending in 2019.
Benefits of E20 fuel in particular and ethanol blending in general:
1, To reduce vehicular emissions.
2, To reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, etc.
3, To reduce the oil import bill, thereby saving foreign exchange and boosting energy security.
Challenges ahead:
Compatibility of vehicles with the percentage of ethanol in the blend would have to be defined by the vehicle manufacturer.
What is ethanol?
Ethanol is a biofuel and a common by-product of biomass left by agricultural feedstock such as corn, sugarcane, hemp, potato, etc.
What has the Government done and is doing in this regard?
National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) has allowed Surplus rice available with the FCI to be converted to ethanol for utilization in making alcohol-based hand-sanitizers and for blending in petrol.
The Government of India launched the EBP programme in 2003 for undertaking the blending of ethanol in petrol to address the environmental concerns due to fossil fuel burning, provide remuneration to farmers, subsidize crude imports and achieve forex savings.
The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 envisages that during an agriculture crop year when there is projected over supply of food grains as anticipated by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, the policy will allow conversion of these surplus quantities of food grains to ethanol, based on the approval NBCC.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
1, What is ethanol? How is it produced?
2 Difference between ethanol and molasses?
3 What is ethanol blending programme?
4 Benefits of ethanol blending?
Mains Link:
Write a note on the 2013 EBP programme.
Sources: the Hindu.
Intentional genomic alteration (IGA) and GalSafe pigs:
Context:
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a first-of-its-kind intentional genomic alteration (IGA) in a line of domestic pigs referred to as GalSafe pigs.
These pigs may be used for food and human therapeutics.
This will be the first time that the regulator has approved an animal biotechnology product for both food and biomedical purposes.
What is intentional genomic alteration?
Intentional genomic alteration in animal’s means making specific changes to the genome of the organism using modern molecular technologies that are popularly referred to as “genome editing” or “genetic engineering”.
Such changes in the DNA sequence of an animal may be carried out for research purposes, to produce healthier meat for human consumption and to study disease resistance in animals among other reasons.
Sources: Indian Express.
Facts for Prelims:
U.K., U.S. in top 5 hirers of IT contract staff:
The findings of the survey — titled ‘Global Demand for Indian IT Contractors’- have been released.
The survey was conducted by contractor hiring platform Techfynder.
The findings are based on responses of 52,000 contractors between January and December.
Key findings:
The U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, the U.S. and South Africa are among the top countries attracting and retaining highly-skilled Indian workers in the contracting marketplace.
Due to the pandemic, many businesses were going online to offer their products and services, which has further raised demand for software engineers, Java developers, cybersecurity engineers, data scientists, web developers and UI/UX designers.
Boko Haram:
Boko Haram is a violent Islamist insurgent group that has spread from northeast Nigeria to neighbouring West African nations of Niger, Chad and Cameroon in the Lake Chad Basin.
Why in News?
344 abducted Nigerian boys freed by Boko Haram.
All have equal right to practice religion:
Allahabad High Court grants protection to man booked under Uttar Pradesh anti-conversion ordinance.
Fundamental Rights at stake:
Right to privacy as a basic fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Article 25 provides that all persons have equal right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality, health and other provisions of Part-III of the Constitution.
SolarWinds hack:
It is a cyberattack recently discovered in the United States.
It has emerged as one of the biggest ever targeted against the US government, its agencies and several other private companies.
Paris fined for appointing ‘too many women’ in senior positions:
Paris city authorities have been slapped with a €90,000 (over Rs 80 lakh) fine for appointing too many women to top-level positions in 2018 and violating a national rule designed to ensure gender parity in employment.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo — who led the drive to bring more women into the city’s government — has mocked the fine as “unfair”, “irresponsible” and “absurd” during a meeting of the city council.
What’s the issue? What is the ‘Sauvadet law’?
In 2018, 11 women and five men were appointed to leadership positions in Paris’ city hall. Since 69 per cent of the appointments went to women, the decision was technically in violation of a law introduced in 2013, known as the ‘Sauvadet law’, which requires a minimum of 40 per cent of appointments for each gender.
IND-INDO CORPAT:
1 35th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) held recently.
2 Conducted between the navies of India and Indonesia.
3 The aim is to ensure the safety and security of shipping and international trade in the region.
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI):
1, Launched by Modi in September 2019 at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York, US.
2, A platform where knowledge is generated and exchanged on different aspects of disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure.
3, It will create a mechanism to assist countries to upgrade their capacities and practices, with regard to infrastructure development in accordance with their risk context and economic needs.
What is the ‘Christmas Star’ conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter?
After nearly 400 years, Saturn and Jupiter the two largest planets in our solar system will be brought closest in the night sky by an astronomical event called the “great conjunction” and popularly referred to as the “Christmas Star”.
So, what is the “Great Conjunction”?
A conjunction is not unique to Saturn and Jupiter however, it is the name given to any event where planets or asteroids appear to be very close together in the sky when viewed from the Earth.
Astronomers use the word “great” for the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn because of the planets’ sizes.
The “Great Conjunction” happens once in about 20 years because of the time each of the planets take to orbit around the Sun.
Sources: Indian Express.
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