CURRENT AFFAIRS

PLACES IN NEWS

1. BHASHAN CHAR
 Bangladesh starts relocation of Rohingyas to the newly
developed facility at Bhashan Char Island
 Bhasan Char, also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya
Upazila, Bangladesh. It is located in the Bay of Bengal, about 6
kilometres from Sandwip island and 37 miles from the mainland.
 Bhashan char is a char land of around 13,000 acres, formed by the
accumulation of the silt where the river Meghna meets the Bay of
Bengal carrying rich alluvial deposits. Char- lands are a common
feature in Meghna and Padma rivers literally mean “Shifting
Landmass”.
 As the name reveals, the char was not part of the permanent land
feature of Bangladesh, but appeared recently. Bhashan Char is
surrounded by a mangrove forest that has given it geographical
stability.
 Bhashan char is an uninhabited island where the government of
Bangladesh has made shelter houses for one lakh Rohingya
refugees at an estimated cost of Tk. 2,300 Crore.
 The environmentalists say that the Bhashan char falls in an
ecologically fragile area prone to floods, erosion and cyclones.
 2.Mount ili Lewotolok
 It is a volcanic mountain of Indonesia, located on lembatia island,
that has been erupting frequently since 2017.
 It is one of three currently erupting in Indonesia along with Merapi
on Java island and Sinabung on Sumatra island,
 They are among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which
is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of
Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

ENVIRONMENT

Experts from the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India have visited 4

locations in Madhya Pradesh to search for the perfect habitat for the
reintroduction of cheetah within the nation.

Four locations are:

1. The Kuno Palpur sanctuary in MP's Sheopur district.

2. The Nauradehi sanctuary in Sagar district.
3. The Gandhi Sagar sanctuary on the northern boundary of Mandsaur and
Neemuch districts
4. The Madhav National Park in Shivpuri district.
 The Supreme Court gave its approval to introduce African cheetahs to a
suitable habitat in India on an experimental basis in January 2020.
 The Supreme Court set up a three- member committee to guide the
National Tiger Conservation Authority on the cheetah re-introduction
project. The panel has asked the WII to carry out a technical evaluation of
all possible sites for the re-introduction of cheetah in the country.
 The country's last spotted cheetah died in Chhattisgarh in 1947.
 The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952.
Cheetahs

 The cheetah is a prominent cat family member that belongs to the

subfamily Felinae and is found across Africa and some parts of Iran.
 The cheetah prefers grassland habitats where it has enough space to go
after its prey without any obstacles.

 The cheetahs are the world’s fastest land mammal.

 Cheetahs are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, but after
a recent study revealed significant population declines, scientists are
calling for cheetahs to be uplisted to Endangered.
 In North Africa and Asia, they are considered Critically Endangered.

Myristica Swamp Treefrog

Myristica Swamp Treefrog, a uncommon arboreal species endemic to the

Western Ghats that bears the scientific identify Mercurana
myristicapalustris, has been recorded for the primary time north of the
Shencottah hole in Vazhachal Reserve Forest in Thrissur.

 The frog was first described in 2013 from the lowland Myristica swamps
of Arippa, close to Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest, within the western
foothills of Agasthyamalai.
 These frogs are uncommon and elusive given that they’re arboreal and
energetic just for a couple of weeks throughout their breeding season.
 They exhibit distinctive breeding behavior.
  The breeding season, not like for different frogs, begins within the
pre-monsoons season (Could) and ends earlier than the monsoon
turns into absolutely energetic in June.
 The female digs the mud and lays eggs in shallow burrows in mud.
After breeding and egg laying, they retreat back to the high canopies
of the tree and remain elusive till the next breeding season.

Myristica Swamps

 The Myristica swamps are tropical freshwater swamp forests with an

abundance of Myristica trees.
 Myristica trees are the most primitive of the flowering plants on
earth.
 The evergreen, water-tolerant trees have dense stilt roots helping
them stay erect in the thick, black, wet alluvial soil.
 These swamps are considered as living museums of ancient life and
could promote better understanding of the influence of climate
change on the evolution of plants.
The Climate Ambition Summit 2020

 The Climate Ambition Summit 2020 marks the fifth anniversary of the
Paris Agreement, and provides a platform for government and non-
governmental leaders to demonstrate their commitment to the Paris
Agreement and the multilateral process.
 The summit is positioned as a “sprint to Glasgow,” where the 26th
session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is scheduled to take place
from 1–12 November 2021.
 The United Nations, United Kingdom and France co-hosted the Climate
Ambition Summit 2020, in partnership with Chile and Italy.
 The Summit aims to rally momentum and call for much greater climate
action and ambition.

In particular, the co-hosts have called for:

 New, more ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

 Long-term net-zero emissions strategies.
 Climate finance commitments to support the most vulnerable.
 Ambitious adaptation plans and policies.
 At the virtual summit UN Secretary General Mr Guterres said world
leaders should declare climate emergency in their countries to avoid
catastrophic global warming. He criticised G20 member countries for
spending 50 percent more of their pandemic recovery cash on fossil fuels
compared to low-carbon energy.

India’s stand:

 PM Modi, while addressing the summit said that India is not only on
track to achieve its Paris Agreement targets, but to exceed them beyond
expectations.
  India has reduced emission intensity by 21% over 2005 levels. Solar
capacity has grown from 2.63 GigaWatts in 2014 to 36 GigaWatts in
2020. Renewable energy capacity is the fourth largest in the world.

 It will reach 175 GigaWatts before 2022. India has set an even more
ambitious target now - 450 GigaWatts of renewable energy capacity by
2030.

And, on the world stage, India has pioneered two major initiatives:

1. The International Solar Alliance, and

2. Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

Germanwatch along with New Climate Institute and Climate Action

Network International and with financial support from Barthel Foundation
has released Climate Change Performance Index 2021.

 The latest list is prepared by assessing performances of 57 countries and

European Union (as a whole) in four categories - GHG emissions (40%),
renewable energy (20%), energy use (20%) and climate policy (20%).
These 57 countries and the EU collectively are responsible for about 90%
of global GHG emissions.
 The biggest current emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) China figures at
33rd rank while the largest historical polluter, the USA, appears at the
bottom of the list.
 Though India slides one position down from ninth in 2019 to 10th this
year, the country’s journey towards climate protection has been consistent
with it improving its ranking from 31st in 2014.
 Globally none of the countries assessed for the annual CCPI report are,
however, on the path to meet their Paris Agreement commitment of
keeping global warming increase below 2 degree Celsius by the end of
the century and actually to make efforts to restrict it to 1.5 degree Celsius
rise.
  The CCPI 2021, covering the year 2020, shows that only two G20
countries - the UK and India - are among the high rankers while six
others - the USA, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, South Korea and
Russia (52nd) – are at the bottom of the index.

CLIMATE CHANGE PERFORMANCE INDEX (CCPI)

 To enhance transparency in international climate politics.

 First published in 2005 and an updated version is presented at the UN
Climate Change Conference annually.
 The CCPI evaluates 57 countries and the European Union, which together
generate 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
 Using standardised criteria, the CCPI looks at four categories, with 14
indicators: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (40% of the overall score),
Renewable Energy (20%), Energy Use (20%), and Climate Policy (20%).
 No country has performed well enough in all CCPI index categories to
achieve an overall very high rating. The first three positions in the overall
ranking therefore remain empty.
MALAYAN GIANT SQUIRREL (RATUFA BICOLOR)

A first-of-its-kind study by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) under the

Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has projected
that numbers of the Malayan Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor) could decline
by 90 per cent in India by 2050.

MALAYAN GIANT SQUIRREL (RATUFA BICOLOR)

 It is also known as Black Giant Squirrel.

 It one of the world’s largest squirrel species, has a dark upper body, pale
underparts and a long, bushy tail.
 In India, it is found in the northeastern part of the country covering the
States of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya,
and Nagaland.
 Mostly found in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of Northeast India
 This species is listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species.
 There are three species of giant squirrels found in India. The Malayan
species is native to Northeast India.
 The other two species: Indian giant squirrel and grizzled giant squirrel is
distributed mostly across peninsular and southern India.
  It is considered to be a forest health indicator species.
 According to the study, the squirrel and its habitat are under threat from
deforestation, fragmentation of forests, crop cultivation and over-
harvesting of food, illegal trade in wildlife, and hunting for consumption.

PILIBHIT TIGER RESERVE (PTR)

 The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the Uttar Pradesh Forest
department have bagged the first-ever international award, TX2, for
doubling the number of tigers in four years against a target of 10 years.
 Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was the first to receive the award among 13 tiger
range countries.
 It achieved this goal in just four years from 2014, when it had 25 tigers
which went up to 65 in 2018.
 The award was virtually presented to the principal chief conservator of
forest (wildlife) of the state, Sunil Pandey, by UNDP's (United Nations
Development Program) head of ecosystems and biodiversity, Mindori
Paxton.

TX2

It is the global award which was set up in 2010 in St. Petersburg, Russia by
international organizations working for tiger conservation like WWF, UNDP,
IUCN, Global Tiger Fund (GTF), CATS and The Lion’s Share.
Conservation area straddling the India-Bhutan border has received the
TX2 Conservation Excellence Award for 2020.

 TX2 stands for “Tigers times two”, signalling the goal to double the
population of wild tigers by 2022.
 The recognition was for the Trans boundary Manas Conservation Area or
TraMCA comprising the 500 sq. km. Manas National Park in Assam and
the 1,057-sq. km. Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.
 India and Bhutan are among 13 countries working towards TX2, a goal
that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) had set through the Global Tiger
Initiative, Global Tiger Forum and other critical platforms.
 The award recognises a site that has achieved excellence in two or more
of five themes: Tiger and prey population monitoring and research (tiger
translocation/prey augmentation); effective site management; enhanced
law enforcement, protection and ranger welfare improvement;
community-based conservation, benefits and human-wildlife conflict
mitigation and habitat and prey management.
 The number of the striped cat in the Indian Manas increased from nine in
2010 to 25 in 2018 while that in the Bhutan Manas more than doubled
from 12 in 2008 to 26 in 2018.
 The TX2 awards include a financial grant to assist on going conservation.
 The reserve is a source site for tigers and important for connectivity
across the vast Terai Arc Landscape of India and Nepal.

CLIMATE EMERGENCY

 New Zealand Prime Minister Jasinda Ardern’s government is to declare a

climate emergency in a symbolic step to increase pressure for action to
combat global warming.
 If a climate emergency is passed, New Zealand would join countries like
Canada, France and Britain, Portugal, Japan that have taken the same
course to focus efforts on tackling climate change.
  Oxford Dictionaries has declared “climate emergency” the word of the
year for 2019, following a hundred-fold increase in usage that it says
demonstrated a “greater immediacy” in the way we talk about the climate.
 It defines climate emergency as “a situation in which urgent action is
required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially
irreversible environmental damage resulting from it”.
 Recently the Japanese lawmakers declared a climate emergency. Under
the climate emergency they have framed a timetable for net zero
emissions.

Project Lion could displace Maldharis within Gir to create ‘inviolate space’

 Maldharis, a traditional pastoral people found in and around the Gir

National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, might end up being uprooted from
their homes, if the Project Lion proposal takes shape.
 The proposal, created by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the
Gujarat forest department, talks of creating ‘an inviolate space of 1,000
square kilometres’ (sq km).
 Inviolate spaces are areas free from anthropomorphic pressures. Resource
extraction of forest produce like fuel wood, fodder and minor forest
produce as well as human habitation are not allowed in such places.

Project Lion was launched by Narendra Modi August 15, 2020.

 The project will involve habitat development by engaging modern

technologies in management as well as in addressing the issue of diseases
in lion and its associated species through veterinary care and advanced
world-class research.
 Six new sites apart from the Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary were
identified under Project Lion that was announced by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on August 15, 2020.

The six new sites include:

1. Madhav National Park, Madhya Pradesh.

 2. Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan.
3. Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan.
4. Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh.
5. Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan.
6. Jessore-Balaram Ambaji WLS and adjoining landscape, Gujarat.

About Maldharis

These people are the Maldharis, who have resided in the area for several
generations. They live in settlements called ness and make their living by
selling milk from their water buffaloes.
INDO GANGETIC PLAIN (IGP) GLOBAL HOTSPOT OF
ATMOSPHERIC AMMONIA (NH3), IIT KHARAGPUR STUDY

 IGP is the global hot-spot of NH3 due to intense agricultural activities

and fertilizer production
 There is a positive correlation of NH3 with total fertilizer consumption
and temperature since high temperature favours volatilization
 Agricultural emission is negatively correlated with total precipitation as
wet deposition helps removal of NH3.

NH3 plays a key role in the deterioration of air quality by actively contributing
to the formation of secondary aerosols.

Agricultural emissions in India

Agriculture sector is responsible for climate change due to Greenhouse gas

(GHG) emissions. They are generated through the production and use of
agricultural inputs (mainly water, fertilisers, and pesticides) farm machinery,
soil disturbance, residue management and irrigation Agriculture and livestock
account for 18% of gross national emissions of CO2 in India.

Steps to decrease emissions:

 Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA), which seek to

optimise the use of locally available resources replacing external inputs.
 Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a low Input, climate-resilient type
of farming that eliminates the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

The Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA)

 AIPA is a 17 member inter-ministerial committee constituted to ensure

Coordinated response on climate change matters that protects country's
interests.
 India is on track towards meeting its climate change obligations under
Paris Agreement including its submitted Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDC).
  AIPA has been constituted under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Secretary, Ministry of Environment. Forest and Climate Change will be
the chairperson of AIPA.

Functions of AIPA

 Coordinate communication and reporting of NDCS to UNFCCC. Under

Paris Agreement, countries will engage in Global Stocktake every five
years to assess collective progress towards the Agreement's long-term
goals.
 Develop policies and programmes, to make India’s domestic climate
actions compliant with international obligations and assign
responsibilities to concerned ministries
 Function as a National Authority to regulate carbon markets in India,
under Article 6 of Paris Agreement in post-2020 period (Article 6 deals
with carbon market, non-market and voluntary approaches.)
 Take note of private sector's contributions for combating climate change
 Seek guidance from and provide inputs to Prime Minister's Council on
Climate Change.

ECONOMY

The Union Cabinet approved setting up of Public WiFi networks across the
country as part of the Prime Minister WiFi Access Network Interface (PM-
WANI) to improve wireless connectivity.

 First recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI) in 2017, PM-WANI ecosystem will be operated by different
players, including Public Data Offices (PDOs), Public Data Office
Aggregators (PDOA), App providers, and a Central registry.
 Public WiFi will be provided through PDOs as WiFi hotspots, to be set
up along the lines of public calling offices.
 PDO s can be a kirana shop or any common services centre present in
small towns, gram panchayats, and villages in the country.
How It Works

 6 PDOs like a cybercafe will establish, maintain, and operate Wi-Fi

access points and deliver broadband services to subscribers either on its
own or on lease from other internet service providers.
 PDOA s will be aggregators of PDOs and perform functions relating to
Authorisation and Accounting.
 The app provider will develop the app to register users and handle PM-
WANI compliant from nearby WiFi hotspots.
 The details of all three will be maintained by the Central Registry
working under the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).
 Neither registration nor any license or any other fee will be required for
PDOs. The PDOAs and app providers will simply register themselves
with the Department of Telecommunications through an online
registration portal without paying any registration fee.
 Registration will be granted within seven days of the application, else
they will be deemed registered.

Significance

 Public Wi-Fi will accelerate the uptake of broadband Internet services

filling the gap of high speed and reliable broadband connectivity in rural
and remote areas with employment generation and income to small and
medium entrepreneurs, thereby bringing the Wi-Fi revolution in the
country and boosting India's GDP.
 COVID-19 pandemic increased the large number of subscribers in the
country demanding internet services at affordable prices, Public Wi-Fi
can be the best solution to address the demands.

Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project

 Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the

investment for 210 MW Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project.
  It is located on River Satluj in Shimla and Kullu districts of Himachal
Pradesh.
 The project is being implemented by state-run Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam
(SJVNL) and is scheduled to be commissioned in five years.

Significance:

 This project will generate 758.20 million units of electricity annually,

which will help in providing grid stability and improve the power supply
position.
 Besides adding valuable renewable energy to the grid, the project would
also lead to a reduction of 6.1 lakh tons of carbon dioxide from the
environment annually, thus contributing to an improvement in air quality
and less air pollution.
 The construction activities will result in direct and indirect employment
and will contribute to the overall socio-economic development of the
State.
 Himachal Pradesh will benefit with free power worth around Rs. 1140
crore, during the Project Life Cycle of 40 years.
 The project affected families will be provided with 100 units of free
electricity per month for ten years.

SOURCE: FINANCIAL EXPRES

AGRICULTURE

APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development

Authority) is formulating a five years (2021-2026) strategy to enable all
concerned stakeholders for taking necessary action in a time bound
manner for achieving the target.

 Efforts would be made on identification of Millet clusters, creation of

platform to consolidate farmers, FPOs, Exporters, Associations, other
stakeholders etc.
  Millets are generally small-seeded cereal crops known for high nutritive
value (iron, zinc and calcium, among other).
 These include sorghum, pearl millet, ragi, small millet, foxtail millet,
proso millet,barnyard millet, and kodo millet.
 India is the largest producer of millets in the world. States like Rajasthan,
Maharashtra, and Karnataka leading in millet farming.
 Their consumption was higher before the onset of the green revolution
 Millets are highly climate resilient, less water intensive and can be grown
on dry lands.
 It is a potential tool to fight malnutrition and rural poverty. Issues: low
yield of millets, lack of processing facilities at farm gate, poor demand.

GREEN CHARCOAL HACKATHON

 Recently Green Charcoal Hackathon was launched, by Ministry of power,

with the objective to clean the air by eliminating farm fire, producing
renewable energy out of the agro residue etc. NVVN (NTPC
VidyutVyapar Nigam), a wholly-owned subsidiary company of NTPC
Ltd, launched the Green Charcoal Hackathon.
 It is a technology challenge with an aim to fast-track technology
developments conducted by NVVN in partnership with EESL (Energy
Efficiency Services Ltd – a 100% govt. owned energy service company).
 The purpose of the event is to leverage the innovative Indian mind to
bridge the technology gap, with the prime objective to:
 Clean the air by eliminating farm fire, producing renewable energy
out of the agro residue.
 Promote local entrepreneurship.
 Increase the income of the farmers.
 The ultimate goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of the nation.
 Green Charcoal is a type of bio-fuel that can be made locally and
inexpensively.
  To make this, agricultural waste materials appropriate to the season and
the region are carbonized (conversion of an organic substance into carbon
or a carbon-containing residue) in a kiln.
 It burns cleanly, reducing exposure to the smoke that causes respiratory
infections

HISTORY AND CULTURE

The historical fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh have
been included in the list of UNESCOs world heritage cities under its urban
landscape city programme, according to the state government.

 The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO), an agency of the United Nations, aims at promoting world
peace and security through international cooperation in education, the
sciences, and culture.

Gwalior

 Gwalior was established in 9th century and ruled by Gurjar Pratihar

Rajvansh, Tomar, Baghel Kachvaho and Scindias.
 The memorabilia left by them is found in abundance in memorials, forts
and palaces in the area.
 Gwalior is known for its palaces and temples, including the intricately
carved Sas Bahu Ka Mandir temple.
  The Gwalior Fort occupies a sandstone plateau overlooking the city and
is accessed via a winding road lined with sacred Jain statues. Within the
forts high walls is the 15th-century Gujari Mahal Palace, now an
archaeological museum.

Orchha

 Orchha is is popular for its temples and palaces and was the capital of the
Bundela kingdom in the 16th century.
 The famous spots in the town are Raj Mahal, Jehangir Mahal, Ramraja
Temple, Rai Praveen Mahal, and Laxminarayan Mandir.

After inclusion in the World Heritage City list, chemical treatment of historic
spots like Mansingh Palace, Gujri Mahal and Sahastrabahu Temple will be done
so that art inscribed on them will become more visible and UNESCO will
suggest best measures and resources for the development of these places.

NAGALAND SET TO CELEBRATE POPULAR HORNBILL FESTIVAL

VIRTUALLY THIS YEAR
  Hornbill Festival is conducted every year in Nagaland.It is Named after
the Indian hornbill, it takes place every year from the 1st to the 10th of
December.
 The various tribes that live in Nagaland get the opportunity to interact
with each other and display their rich cultural heritage.
 Sixteen tribal communities come together to celebrate their traditions
with colourful dance performances.
 The festival is considered the “Festival of Festivals” in Nagaland.

Indus Valley civilisation had meat-heavy diets, preference for beef, reveals
study

 The people of the Indus Valley Civilisation in northwest India had a

predominantly meat-heavy diet, comprising animals like pigs, cattle,
 buffalo and sheep, along with dairy products, a study published in Journal
of Archaeological Science has shown.
 This study is a systematic investigation into pot lipid residues from
multiple sites, demonstrating the potential of the method for examining
ancient Indus food ways and the need for the development of further
research in ancient organic residues in South Asia.
 Despite low lipid concentrations, which highlight challenges with
conducting residue analysis in arid, seasonally-wet and alkaline
environments, 71% of the vessels yielded appreciable quantities of lipid.
Lipid profiles revealed the use of animal fats in vessels, and contradictory
to faunal evidence, a dominance of non-ruminant fats, with limited
evidence of dairy processing.
 Lipids are relatively less prone to degradation and have been discovered
in pottery from archaeological contexts around the world.
 The research offers insights into the food patterns of ancient South Asia
by using lipid residue analysis to investigate what kinds of food items
were used in ceramic vessels by people of the Indus Valley Civilisation
settlements in northwest India, the present-day states of Haryana and
Uttar Pradesh.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CHINESE RESEARCHERS CLAIM TO HAVE ACHIEVED QUANTUM

SUPREMACY

 Researchers have built a quantum computer prototype that is able to

perform certain computations nearly 100 trillion times faster than the
world's most advanced supercomputer.
 With this, China become the first country to develop the technology >
Last year, Google had built a computer named Sycamore, that could
perform a computation in 200 seconds that would take the fastest
supercomputers about 10,000 years, hence reaching quantum supremacy.

Quantum computing
  A quantum computer harnesses quantum mechanics to deliver huge leaps
forward in processing power.
 Rather than storing information using bits represented by O's or 15 as
conventional computers do quantum computers use quantum bits, or
qubits, to encode information as 0 , 1, or both at the same time.
 They function according to two key principles of quantum physics:
superposition and entanglement.
 Superposition means that each qubit can represent both 1 and Oat the
same time. Entanglement means that qubits in a superposition can be
correlated with each other; ie, state of one (whether it is a 1 or a 0) can
depend on state of another.

Quantum cryptography

Quantum cryptography is the science of exploiting quantum mechanical

properties to perform cryptographic tasks. The best known example of quantum
cryptography is quantum key distribution which offers an information-
theoretically secure solution to the key exchange problem.

China successfully powered up its HL-2M Tokamak nuclear fusion reactor,

often called an artificial sun on account of enormous heat and power it
produces

 Tokamak is a magnetic fusion device designed to prove feasibility of

fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy based on same
principle that powers Sun and stars.
 It uses a powerful magnetic field to fuse hot plasma and can reach
temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius which is approximately
ten times hotter than sun's core.
Nuclear Fusion

 Nuclear fusion is a process when two or more light atomic nuclei fuse to
produce a heavier nucleus and release tremendous amount of energy in
process. It is the energy source of Sun and stars.
 Advantages of fusion: release of abundant energy.fuels are widely
available and nearly inexhaustible, don't emit harmful gases like CO2 or
other greenhouse gases, produces no long-lived radioactive waste etc.
 China plan to use it in collaboration with International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor (ITER), an experimental tokamak nuclear fusion
reactor.
 ITER members include China, European Union, India, Japan, South
Korea, Russia and US.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND ISSUES
RED CHANNEL AGREEMENT

 The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Federation

of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) signed a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) called the Red Channel Agreement, a new
collaboration to strengthen the delivery of emergency medical and health
services during humanitarian crises.
 The MoU is the culmination of years of collaboration between IFRC and
the WHO Emergency Medical Team Initiative.
 With the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant increase in
emergencies around the world, the move will help in providing life-
saving health services to communities affected by humanitarian
emergencies or in times of crisis.

• Key Objectives

 To provide quality emergency health services that communities

desperately need.
 To cooperate on implementing the Emergency Medical Team (EMT)
initiative for improving the quality of care in emergencies.
 To standardize emergency health response work particularly technical
standards, accountability, and coordination and to provide increased
support for National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies which play
such a crucial role in emergency response.
 It aligns the IFRC's system with that of the WHO Emergency Medical
Teams global classification system, in doing so recognizing the IFRC's
Emergency
BETTER THAN CASH ALLIANCE

 Based at the United Nations, Better Than Cash Alliance is a partnership

of over 75 governments, companies and international organizations that
accelerates the transition from cash to responsible digital payments to
advance the Sustainable Development Goals It is committed to digitizing
payments in order to boost efficiency, transparency, women's economic
participation and financial inclusion
 India became a member of this Alliance in 2015.
 Recently, India and Better Than Cash Alliance organized a joint Peer
learning exchange on fintech solutions.

Recently Iran has begun second phase of the 628-km Chabahar-Zahedan

Rail line project, which is expected to be completed by June 2021.

 It will connect Chabahar Port through the existing Iranian railway

network to Turkmenistan in the North, and also to Afghanistan in two
border points including one in Zabol, which facilitates access to Zaranj –
Delaram Highway and another city in South Khorasan Province, from
Khaf, Iran to Herat.
Strategic Significance

 For Iran, it will be an all-rail corridor, connecting Chabahar, Iran's only

oceanic port, to the national railway network, promoting sustainable
development and economic growth in the region and establishing trade
relationships with countries in the region and the world.
 Chabahar port, located on the Gulf of Oman i.e. close to the Indian
Ocean, has immense geographical significance in the light of the fact of
Pakistan denying transit access to India. Food grains etc are being
transited from Kandla (Gujarat) to Afghanistan via Chabahar only.

 The rail project holds strategic and economic significance for India as it
connects Chabahar port (Iran) that is located 72 kilometers west of
Pakistan's Gwadar port, to Zaranj across the border in Afghanistan.
  This strategic transit route will be Afghanistan's first route to the Indian
Ocean independent of Pakistan and an alternate trade route to landlocked
Afghanistan and Central Asia.

 The Chabahar port is strategically significant in strengthening trilateral

relationships among - Iran, India & Afghanistan and with other Central
Asian countries.

 During the Corona pandemic, India transited humanitarian assistance to

Afghanistan via Chabahar port.

 India has contributed in building the 218 km Delaram-Zaranj highway in

Afghanistan, which reduced traveling time between Afghanistan and Iran.

 Also, one of the terminals of Chabahar port was operated by a joint

venture between Iran and India that benefitted in increasing the traffic
and transit of goods between the two countries and via Chabahar to
neighbouring countries specifically Afghanistan.

 India’s contribution in upcoming projects of Iran like developing the

Makran coast with the Oman Sea will further strengthen the relationship.
THE ATHENA SWAN CHARTER
 The Athena SWAN Charter is an evaluation and accreditation programme
in the UK enhancing gender equity in science, technology, engineering,
mathematics and medicine (STEMM).
 Participating research organisations and academic institutions are
required to analyse data on gender equity and develop action plans for
improvement. The programme recognises such efforts with bronze, silver
or gold accreditation.
 Institutions that sign up commit to ad- dressing unequal gender
representation tackling the gender pay gap: removing the obstacles faced
by women career development and progression; discriminatory treatment
often experienced by trans people gender balance of committees and zero
tolerance balance of committees and zero tolerance for bullying and
sexual harassment.
INDEX AND REPORTS

GLOBAL WAGE REPORT 2020-21 RELEASED BY INTERNATIONAL

LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO)

 Report titled "Wages and minimum wages in the time of COVID-19"

presents the emerging empirical evidence of the effects of the crisis on
wages,

Key findings

 Disproportionate impact of COVID-192 workers in lower-skilled

occupations lost more working hours than higher paying managerial and
professional jobs.

 Informal workers in India suffered a 22.6% fall in wages, even as formal

sector employees had their salaries cut by 3.6% on an average,

 Gender wage gap: Without wage subsidies, women would have lost 8.1%
of their wages in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 5.4% for men.
 Between 2016-19, wages increased most rapidly in Asia and the Pacific
and Eastern Europe and slowly in North America and northern, southern
and western Europe.

• Recommendations

 Adequate and balanced wage policies arrived at through strong and

inclusive social dialogue.
 Adequate minimum wages could help to ensure more social justice and
less inequality
  ILO is the United Nations agency. It brings together governments,
employers and workers to drive a human-centred approach to the future
of work through employment creation, rights at work, social protection
and social dialogue.

WORLD TRADE REPORT (WTR) 2020 REPORT RELEASED BY

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)

 WTR is an annual publication that aims to deepen understanding about

trends in trade, trade policy issues and the multilateral trading system.

 WIR 2020 looks at the role of innovation and technology policies in an

increasingly digitalized world economy, and explains the role of the
WTO in this changing context

• Key Highlights of report

 In the digital age, a growing number of governments are adopting policies

aimed at boosting growth through innovation and technological
upgrading,
 In India, Digital India' initiative aims to vastly expand the digital
infrastructure and digitally empower the citizens.
 Report warns the transition towards digital economy can have positive
spillovers & negative spillovers.
 Positive spillovers: generating growth, creating new markets and
encouraging technology diffusion.
 Negative spillovers: distorting trade, diverting investment, or promoting
unfair competition with the winner-takes-all characteristics of
certaindigital industries
 COVID-19 pandemic is likely to accelerate the shift to digital platforms
and technologies significantly

Recommendations:
  WTR recommends new policies such as collaborative research and
development support, knowledge diffusion through agglomeration,
technological hubs, data policies etc, instead of the more conventional
policies focused on tariffs, investment and tax incentives.

STATE OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE REPORT (PROVISIONAL)

RELEASED BY WORLD METEOROLOGICALORGANIZATION (WMO)

 Report use Global Climate Indicators (GCI) to describe the changing

climate & providing a broad view of the climate at a global scale.
 GCI are used to monitor the domains most relevant to climate change,
including the composition of the atmosphere, the energy changes that
arise from the accumulation of greenhouse gases and other factors, as
well as the responses of land, ocean and ice

• Key findings

 Average global temperature in 2020 is set to be about 12 above the pre-

industrial (1850-1900) level.
 2020 is very likely to be one of the three warmest years on record
globally.
 Ocean acidification is increasing.
 The ocean absorbs around 23% of the annual emissions of CO2 from the
atmosphere, thereby helping to alleviate the impacts of climate change on
the planet.
 Number of tropical cyclones globally was above average in 2020 Despite
the COVID-19 lockdown atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse
gases continued to rise

 The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental

organization with a membership of 193 Member States and Territories. It
originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), the
roots of which were planted at the 1873 Vienna International
 Meteorological Congress. The Secretariat, headquartered in Geneva, is
headed by the Secretary-General. Its supreme body is the World
Meteorological Congress.

 India is its member

RECENTLY, THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) HAS

RELEASED THE WORLD MALARIA REPORT (WMR) 2020.

 The report provides a comprehensive update on global and regional

malaria data and trends including prevention, diagnosis, treatment,
elimination and surveillance.
 It indicates that India has made considerable progress in reducing its
malaria burden.
 Report tracks investments in malaria programmes and research, as well as
progress across all intervention areas: prevention, diagnosis, treatment
and surveillance.
 Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through
infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
 Key findings

 Malaria case incidence (cases per 1000 population at risk) reduced from
80 in 2000 to 57 in 2019 globally.
 WHO African Region accounted for about 94% of cases
 India is the only high endemic country which has reported a decline of
17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018.
 Steps to eradicate Malaria:
 WHO had initiated the High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) initiative in
11 high malaria burden countries, including India.
 Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030 which aimed for a
reduction in malaria case incidence and mortality rate of at least 40% by
2020, 75% by 2025 and 90% by 2030 from a 2015 baseline.
RECENT FACTS
China has started importing Indian rice for the first time in at least three
decades due to tightening supplies and an offer from India of sharply
discounted prices, Indian industry officials told Reuters. India is the
world’s biggest exporter of rice and China is the biggest importer. Beijing
imports around 4 million tonnes of rice annually but has avoided
purchases from India, citing quality issues.
According to the Reserve Bank of India's, “nowcasting”, India’s economy
will contract by 8.6% in the second consecutive quarter (July, August,
September) of the current financial year which means the economy is in a
‘technical recession’. In simpler words, a technical recession is two
quarters in a row of economic contraction. In the case of a nation’s
economy, the term usually refers to back-to-back contractions in the real
GDP.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nation's first
"State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity” report was launched on the
occasion of World Soil Day, on December 5. The first ever report
highlighting the threats and the solutions that soil biodiversity can
provide to current global challenges.
States with critically low groundwater reserves were responsible for 41%,
or about 38.6 million tonnes of India's domestic cereal trade. This worked
out to nearly 39% of India's total groundwater being used up in producing
and trading cereal among States.
Green' and 'blue water' refer to the volume of precipitation water
that is consumed during crop production, either from
evapotranspiration, transpiration, or incorporated into the final crop
product. The blue water is that withdrawn from ground- and surface-
water sources and consumed during crop production, or incorporated into
the final crop product.

Recently, Indian Oil has launched world-class premium grade Petrol

(Octane 100) in the country. Branded as XP100, the premium grade
petrol was launched across ten cities. Octane number is a measure of
the resistance of fuels to knock or to ignite prematurely. The higher an
octane number, more stable the fuel.

“Wolf-warrior diplomacy,” named after Chinese action blockbuster

movies, describes offensives by Chinese diplomat to defend China’s
national interests, often in confrontational ways.
Tropical Montane Grasslands are high elevation grasslands which are rich
with shrublands and herbs etc. It covers only 2% of the grasslands around
the world.

The J&K State Lands Act 2001 popularly known as the Roshni Act
enables the transfer of ownership rights of state land to its residents by
paying a certain amount fixed by the government. The name "Roshni"
signifying light was given to the act as it was mentioned that the revenue
generated would be used for powering hydroelectric projects in the state.
The act was recently repealed by the J&K High Court declaring it as
unconstitutional and unstable.
Data scraping, or web scraping, is the process of extracting data from a
website. Scraper bots are designed to derive information from these
websites. A user designing a bot to extract data is called a scraper.
What are holographic storage devices?
It is a method of recording data in the form of holograms or three-
dimensional images inside an object using light. Holographic storage uses
green lasers to write data pages. These pages have hundreds of kilobytes
of data in the form of hologram.
A goldmine of Iron Age finds at Muthalamada burial site. An iron chisel
that lay underneath soil for over 2,000 years was recovered in good
situation from an urn burial site at Nagampadam, close to Muthalamada
Railway Station, in Palakkad district recently.The chisel, believed to be
from the Iron Age, is anticipated to throw mild on the early Iron Age
historic burials within the area. It remained intact for over 2,000 years as
a result of of its steel high quality. The Iron Age or megalithic interval is
estimated to be from the fifth century BC to the third century AD.
A custodian or custodian bank is a financial institution that holds
customers' securities for safekeeping to prevent them from being stolen or
lost. The custodian may hold stocks or other assets in electronic or
physical form.
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants, usually crops, without soil.
In this method, the crops/plants are grown on water, rich in essential
nutrients. According to studies, plants grown hydroponically grow faster
and healthier than plants in the soil since they are being provided with
required nutrients directly to their roots through the water.it is also known
as soil-less farming.