Daily Current Affairs : 17th and 18th September 2022

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Biodiesel
2. Difference between CEPA – ECTA and FTA
3. Special Leave Petition
4. UNSC 1267 list
5. Pollution control Technology in Powerplants
6. Climate Change and Indian Monsoon
7. Facts for Prelims

1 . Biodiesel

Context: As part of efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is looking to fly an AN-32 transport aircraft modified to operate on 10% blended biodiesel for 200 flight hours in the next six months.

Key highlights

• The aircraft took flight on biodiesel blended with aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for the first time in December 2018.
• So far, an AN-32 has flown 65 hours with a 10% blend of biofuel and the performance has been very satisfactory.
• A second aircraft, a Dornier, was now undergoing ground tests after it had been cleared by the original manufacturer of the engine, Honeywell, for use of 50% biofuel, he said.
• The global aviation industry is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
• The fuel consumption of the IAF for 2021-22 was 6.2 lakh kilo litres, which contributed 15 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide.
• On the civil aviation front, aircraft manufacturer Airbus said it had plans to offer 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) compatibility on its commercial aircraft by 2030.

Biodiesel

• Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called “biofuels,” to help meet transportation fuel needs.
• The two most common types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel, both of which represent the first generation of biofuel technology.
• Biodiesel is a liquid fuel produced from renewable sources, such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats and is a cleaner-burning replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel.
• It is nontoxic and biodegradable and is produced by combining alcohol with vegetable oil, animal fat, or recycled cooking grease.
• It is a liquid fuel often referred to as B100 or neat biodiesel in its pure, unblended form. Like petroleum diesel, biodiesel is used to fuel compression-ignition engines.
• Like petroleum-derived diesel, biodiesel is used to fuel compression-ignition (diesel) engines. Biodiesel can be blended with petroleum diesel in any percentage, including B100 (pure biodiesel) and, the most common blend, B20 (a blend containing 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel).

Applications

• Biodiesel can be used in pure form (B100) or may be blended with petroleum diesel at any concentration in most injection pump diesel engines.
• New extreme high-pressure (29,000 psi) common rail engines have strict factory limits of B5 or B20, depending on manufacturer.
• Biodiesel has different solvent properties from petrodiesel, and will degrade natural rubber gaskets and hoses in vehicles (mostly vehicles manufactured before 1992), although these tend to wear out naturally and most likely will have already been replaced with FKM, which is nonreactive to biodiesel.
• Biodiesel has been known to break down deposits of residue in the fuel lines where petrodiesel has been used.
• As a result, fuel filters may become clogged with particulates if a quick transition to pure biodiesel is made. Therefore, it is recommended to change the fuel filters on engines and heaters shortly after first switching to a biodiesel blend.
• Heating fuel: Biodiesel can also be used as a heating fuel in domestic and commercial boilers, a mix of heating oil and biofuel which is standardized and taxed slightly differently from diesel fuel used for transportation.
• Cleaning oil spills: Biodiesel has displayed its capacity to significantly dissolve crude oil, depending on the source of the fatty acids. Biodiesel is an effective solvent to oil due to its methyl ester component, which considerably lowers the viscosity of the crude oil.
• Carbon neutral: The main benefit of biodiesel is that it can be described as ‘carbon neutral’. This means that the fuel produces no net output of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). This effect occurs because when the oil crop grows it absorbs the same amount of CO2 as is released when the fuel is combusted.

2 . Difference between CEPA – ECTA & FTA

Context: Sri Lanka will revive its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India and upgrade it to a “a comprehensive economic and technological partnership”, Sri Lnakan President said, signalling Colombo’s willingness to revisit a stalled pact.

Key highlights

• Sri Lanka will revive and upgrade the Free Trade Agreement into a comprehensive economic and technological partnership.
• Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was later known as the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA). Both versions of the proposed deal sparked stiff resistance within Sri Lanka, as critics feared it would impact Sri Lankans’ job prospects with more competition from Indians.
• The current Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) came into effect in 2000 and several rounds of bilateral discussions later, both the nations are yet to reach an agreement on its upgraded version.

 Free Trade Agreement

• A free trade agreement is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them.
• Under a free trade policy, goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions to inhibit their exchange.
• The concept of free trade is the opposite of trade protectionism or economic isolationism.

Difference Between FTA and CEPA

• FTA and CEPA are terms used to describe economic pacts between countries that are aimed at reducing tariffs and improving bilateral trade. Whereas FTA stands for Free Trade Agreement, CEPA stands for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
• Though both are economic pacts, there are differences between the two which will be highlighted in this article.
• Unlike FTA, which is a free trade agreement, CEPA aims at lowering trade barriers instead of complete elimination.
• Partnership agreements or cooperation agreements are more comprehensive than an FTA. CECA/CEPA also looks into the regulatory aspect of trade and encompasses agreements covering regulatory issues.
• CEPA covers negotiation on the trade in services and investment, and other areas of economic partnership. It may even consider negotiation on areas such as trade facilitation and customs cooperation, competition, and IPR
• Unlike FTA between US and EU which seeks to eliminate trade barriers within the next 5 years, CEPA aims to gradually reduce import duties from the existing 12.5% to a mere 1% in the next eight years.
• Critics say that a slow-moving CEPA is not preferable to a full-fledged FTA. However, officials involved in pushing through CEPA say that it is actually FTA+.

Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA)

• The Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) is a proposed diplomatic arrangement that seeks to add to the existing free trade agreement between the Republic of India and the Republic of Sri Lanka, primarily in relation to trade-in services and the service sector; it seeks to emulate a proto freedom-of-movement system and a single market.
• The proposal is championed by supporters as a method to introduce low-cost goods for low-income people in Sri Lanka and increase sales of high-end goods to India, while also making Sri Lanka more attractive for FDI.
• But many lobby groups have become concerned that India would flood Sri Lanka with cheaper labor, with the IT industry is worried about the influx of cheaper Indian tech workers.
• The high unemployment rate of India has been pointed out by many nationalist groups.

3 . Special Leave Petition

Context: After much dithering on the High Court (HC) verdict in the three capitals case for over six months, the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government has at last challenged it in the Supreme Court in the form of a Special Leave Petition (SLP) at a time when speculation is rife that a fresh Bill on decentralisation will be filed in the ongoing monsoon session of the State Legislature.

Key highlights

• The government appealed to the apex court to stay the HC order, wherein a full Bench ruled that the Legislature has no competence to enact any law for shifting the three organs of the capital (under the guise of decentralisation).
• The HC also directed the State and AP-Capital Region Development Authority to complete the process of development of Amaravati capital city and region in a specific timeframe.
• In the SLP, the government contended that the judgement was in violation of the basic structure of the Constitution as the HC cannot hold that the State does not have the powers to decide on its capital.
• The judgement was against the doctrine of separation of powers as it sought to preempt the legislature from taking up the issue (of three capitals).
• The government said the issue had become infructuous since the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions and CRDA Repeal Acts of 2020 were withdrawn.
• Further, it is argued that under the federal structure of the Constitution, every State has an inherent right to determine where it should carry out its capital functions from.
• Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi had filed a contempt petition in the HC and an SLP in the apex court with a plea to control the State’s executive power by directing it not to indulge in wastage of public money that was spent in Amaravati to the tune of roughly ₹52,850 crore.

Special Leave petititon

• In any legal system, there is a hierarchy of courts and tribunals at different levels. After a judgment has been passed by a court lower in a hierarchy, any party, unsatisfied or aggrieved by the outcome may go in for an appeal in the appellate court; which in India is generally a High Court.  However, if any of the parties is unsatisfied by the appellate court’s decision, a further appeal can be made to the Supreme Court of India.
• The guidelines for these appeal processes are provided by Articles 132 to 136.
• There is a special class of appeals, which may not follow the general hierarchy of the courts and tribunals.

Article 136

• Article 136 of the Indian Constitution, allows the Supreme Court to grant special leave to appeal against any judgment or order in any matter or case, made by any court or tribunal in the country.
• The Supreme Court is vested with the absolute power of interpretation of the constitution being the ultimate guardian of it.
• Territorial jurisdiction: SLP can be filed against any judgment or decree or order of any High Court /tribunal in the territory of India or, SLP can be filed in case the High court refuses to grant the certificate of fitness for appeal to Supreme Court of India.
• Timeframe: SLP can be filed against any judgment of High Court within 90 days from the date of judgement. SLP can be filed within 60 days against the order of the High Court refusing to grant the certificate of fitness for appeal to Supreme Court.
• Any aggrieved party can file SLP against the judgment or order of refusal of grant of certificate

When can an SLP be made?

•  The appeal can be made in a case where a substantial question of law is involved or where gross injustice has been observed.
• The judgment, decree or order against which the appeal is being made must have the character of judicial adjudication. This implies that purely administrative or executive order or ruling cannot be a matter of appeal and further, it is also important that the authority whose judgment or order is being appealed against must fall under the definition of a court or a tribunal.
• The Special Leave Petition shall not apply to any judgment or order handed down by any court or tribunal involving the armed forces. This is the only exclusion as is given in clause 2 of Article 136.

The scope of power vested with the Supreme Court of India under Article 136:

• The constitution of India vest “discretionary power” in the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court of India may in its discretion be able to grant special leave to appeal from any judgment or decree or order in any matter or cause made or passed by any Court/tribunal in the territory of India.
• The Supreme Court of India may also refuse to grant the leave to appeal by exercising its discretion.
• An aggrieved party from the judgment or decree of high court cannot claim special leave to appeal as a right but it is privilege which the Supreme Court of India is vested with and this leave to appeal can be granted by it only.
• An aggrieved party can approach the Apex Court under Article 136 in case any constitutional or legal issue exists, and which can be clarified by the Supreme Court of India. This can be heard as civil or criminal appeal.
• This is “residual power” vested with the Supreme Court of India

4 . UNSC 1267 List

Context: For the third time in three months, China blocked a joint India-U.S. attempt to put a Pakistan-based terrorist on the UN Security Council’s 1267 list, placing a hold on the proposal to add Lashkar-e-Taiba ‘commander’ Sajid Mir, who is wanted for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, as well as attacks in the U.S. and Denmark.

Key highlights

• Mir is presently lodged in a Pakistan jail after being convicted of terror financing at a hurried trial earlier this year.
• India has in the past criticised China for its “double standards” and for being “two-faced” on the issue of terrorism for consistently stopping the listing of Pakistan-based terrorists on the UNSC 1267 list, even though the groups they belong to were listed decades ago.
• At the SCO meeting Chinese President spoke about the need for concerted action on terrorism by the eight members of the grouping.

UN Security Council’s 1267 list

• United Nations Security Council resolution 1267 was adopted unanimously on 15 October 1999.
• After recalling resolutions 1189 (1998), 1193 (1998) and 1214 (1998) on the situation in Afghanistan, the Council designated Osama bin Laden and associates as terrorists and established a sanctions regime to cover individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and/or the Taliban wherever located.
• The regime has since been reaffirmed and modified by a dozen further UN Security Council Resolutions.
• Since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the sanctions have been applied to individuals and organizations in all parts of the world.
• It consists of all permanent and non-permanent members of the UNSC.
• Composition: The regime is composed of a UN Security Council Committee, a “consolidated list” of people and entities it has determined as being associated with Al-Qaeda or the Taliban, and laws which must be passed within each member nation in order to implement the sanctions.
• Any inclusion in the list would have required countries to take three steps –
  • Freeze their funds and financial assets
  • Enforce a travel ban and
  • Cut off access to arms and related materials.

Process of inclusion in the list

• Member States may at any time submit to the Committee listing requests for inclusion of individuals, groups, undertakings and entities on the ISIL (Da’esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions List.
• States are advised to submit names as soon as they gather supporting evidence of actions that meet the listing criteria.
• When submitting names of groups, undertakings and/or entities, States are encouraged, if they deem it appropriate, to propose for listing at the same time the names of the individuals responsible for the decisions of the entity concerned.
• Listing requests must contain a detailed statement of case in support of the proposed listing and the specific criteria under which the names of individuals, groups, undertakings and/or entities are being proposed for designation, including:
  • specific findings and reasoning demonstrating that the listing criteria are met;
  • details of any connection with a currently listed individual or entity;
  • information about any other relevant acts or activities of the individual/entity;
  • the nature of the supporting evidence (e.g. intelligence, law enforcement, judicial, media, admissions by subject, etc.);
  • supporting evidence or documents
• States are advised to submit names as soon as they gather supporting evidence of actions that meet the listing criteria. When submitting names of groups, undertakings and/or entities, States are encouraged, if they deem it appropriate, to propose for listing at the same time the names of the individuals responsible for the decisions of the entity concerned.
• Decisions on listing and delisting are adopted by consensus

5 . Pollution Control Technology in Powerplants

Context: Recently,the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) extended the deadline for installing pollution control technologies in the country’s thermal power plants (TPPs). This was the third time that the Ministry has extended the deadline for installation of pollution control technologies. The country’s first emission norms for control of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and mercury (Hg) from coal-fired power plants were notified in December 2015, and the thermal plants were given a timeline of December 2017 to comply.

What does the notification say?

• The Ministry set up three different timelines for three categories of thermal power plants for ensuring installation of pollution-control technologies.
• The categorisation of power plants was done in April 2021 based on an amendment to The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• For power plants within a 10 km radius of Delhi-NCR and million plus cities, the deadline has been extended to December 31, 2024 from the earlier deadline of December 2022.
• In case of power plants within a 10 km radius of critically polluted cities, the deadline has been extended to December 31, 2025 from the earlier December 31, 2023.
• For all other power plants across the country which had an earlier timeline of December 31, 2024, the new deadline stands at December 31, 2026.
• The notification also extends the timeline until 2027 for retiring units (power plants which are over 25 years old or more) and 2026 for non-retiring units.
• This extension comes alongside two dilutions granted to thermal power plants for water and NOx norms.
  • In June 2018, water norms for units installed post-January 2017 were diluted from 2.5 cubic metres per megawatt-hours to three cubic metres per megawatt-hours.
  • Similarly, in May 2019, NOx norms for units installed between 2004 and 2016 were diluted from 300 milligrams per cubic metres to 450 milligrams per cubic metres.

 What are the concerns?

• Environmentalists have raised red flags over the deadline extensions and the dilutions.
• The way in which the extensions have been made since 2015 across parameters including sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury, act as a roadblock.
• It could potentially dent India’s emission targets. The deadlines needed to be met earlier as the further increase in SO2 emissions will further dampen the current air pollution scenario, resulting in a double whammy with current climate catastrophes being witnessed across our cities now.
• A thermal power plant converts heat energy into electric power by burning fossil fuels (coal) and pumps out a lot of gases which are by-products of the burning.
• Along with carbon dioxide, thermal power plants release SO2 (sulphur dioxide) which is a major contributor to particulate matter in air pollution.
• The process of eliminating sulphur compounds from the exhaust emissions of fossil-fuelled (coal-fired) power plants is known as flue gas desulfurisation (FGD).
• This is accomplished by including absorbent materials, which can eliminate up to 95% of the sulphur from the flue gas by scrubbing.

How many plants have installed desulfurisation units?

• Data from Central Electricity Authority (CEA) points out that till February 2021, of the total thermal power of 211. 6 GW (giga watt) across 600 units installed in the country, only 8.2 GW (across 20 units) have installed FGDs.
• Installation of FGDs is a time-consuming process and takes a minimum of 36-42 months for commissioning from the date of award.
• Bids for installation of FGDs have been awarded to power plants generating 85.7 GW (across 190 units).
• Environmentalists argue that going by the pace at which bids are being awarded for FGDs’ installation, many power plants are most likely to miss the new deadline too.

What are the challenges?

• The Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy has often referred to constraints in the implementation of FGD technology at thermal power plants.
• Alongside the minimum time period required for FGD commissioning of 36-42 months there is limited availability of vendors and there is a price escalation factor too due to the limited supply of components.
• The pandemic had an impact on the supply chain and manpower availability.
• FGD system to control pollution was installed for 1,340 MW of coal-fired thermal power capacity of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
• With 24 coal-based power stations, NTPC is the largest thermal power generating company in the country which has an installed capacity of 48,720 MW.
• Despite the push for alternative sources of power, major production of electricity in India is achieved through coal-based thermal power plants which accounts for 75% of the country’s total power generation.
• With severe levels of air pollution recorded in the past few years in the Delhi-NCR region and other cities, the cost of installing FGDs, say experts and environmentalists, should not come in the way of the benefits a clean-up will provide for air quality and health.

What lies ahead?

• India committed at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, to achieve the goal of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel by the year 2030 and achieve the net zero emission target by 2070.
• Environmentalists argue that if the MoEF&CC, which should have penalised power plants for not switching to pollution-control technologies, keeps extending the deadline, the transition to cleaner sources of power will take much longer.
• India’s National Clean Air Programme’s target of reducing air pollution by 20-30% by 2024 will never be achieved if the government gives repeated leeway to violators.

6 . Climate Change and Indian Monsoon

Context: Monsoon in India has undergone several changes over the years, especially on account of climate change. A shift in the track of monsoon systems, like low pressure and depression travelling south of their position and flash floods are a result of this change. And these changes spell intense and frequent extreme unprecedented weather events over the places which once struggled to record even normal monsoon rains. With this looming threat having a bearing on food security, it is only a matter of time before it has socio-economic impact.

Climate change and Monsoon

• It has been very complex to understand the rainfall variability and how monsoon patterns have been behaving of late, especially this year.
• The problem is that it is very challenging for us to understand the situation, which calls for a lot more research.
• Persistence of intense La Nina conditions, the abnormal warming of East Indian Ocean, negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), southward movement of most of the monsoon depressions and lows and pre-monsoon heating over the Himalayan region are melting glaciers. This is a very complex mix
• The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has clearly sighted that 2022 has seen the second highest extreme events since 1902. An alarming case as incidents of floods and droughts have increased, there is more evidence coming our way on how global warming has been impacting the Indian monsoon.
• Most of the monsoon weather systems have been travelling across central parts of the country, changing the area of rainfall.
• Climate change is behind these changes and thus, it calls for more research on the changes in the behavioural pattern of these systems.

Excess and deficit rainfall

• States such as Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of Maharashtra have been recording excess rainfall this season.
• Usually, monsoon systems move across Northwest India giving rains over the region there. Experts believe that these changes are here to stay, which would continue to propel extreme weather events over the entire South Asian region.
• During the last six months, the entire South Asia has been reporting a series of extreme weather events. While Bangladesh, Pakistan and India have battled severe floods, China is reeling under massive drought conditions.
• Slow onsets can still be taken care of through adaptation and resilience ideas, but these kinds of big events are very difficult to cope with.
• That is where the main issue lies as the country would then have to divert development money to climate finance to combat climate change.
• After a weak onset, monsoon went into a lull and so no thumping activity was seen in Kerala and adjoining parts of Karnataka.
• By June, monsoon had reached the plains, but the onset was not a strong one. This resulted in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar not receiving normal rains.
• Back-to-back active monsoon systems in the Bay of Bengal in July led to excess rainfall to the tune of 8%.
• August too saw two back-to-back depressions forming in the Bay of Bengal and travelling across Central India. These intense systems in quick succession kept the monsoon trough well south of its normal position for most of August.

Rice production

• Monsoon each year is unique, but we did see a large regional and temporal variability in rainfall this year.
• Research shows that global warming increases the fluctuations in the monsoon, resulting in both long dry periods and short spells of heavy rains.
• This year, the monsoon was potentially influenced by La Nina also.
• One of the major impacts of changes in track of monsoon systems can be seen on kharif crops, particularly rice production. They form a significant share of more than 50% of total food grain production during this period.
• Arrival of monsoon and whether onset would be strong or weak will always continue to dodge us. Due to southward movement of majors, all main monsoon low pressure areas and depressions, rice producing States such as West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and east Uttar Pradesh have been deficit by large margins. This would straight away have an impact on the quantity as well as the quality of the crop.
• Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, which account for a third of the country’s total rice production, have been highly deficit despite an active monsoon current in July and August.
• These uneven distribution rains along with increasing temperatures and humidity give rise to pest attacks and diseases. This will, in turn, impact the quality of the grain as well as the nutritional value may vary.
• According to a study, very high temperatures (> 35°C) induce heat stress and affect plant physiological processes, leading to spikelet sterility, non-viable pollen and reduced grain quality.
• Drought, on the other hand, reduces plant transpiration rates and may result in leaf rolling and drying, reduction in leaf expansion rates and plant biomass, immobilisation of solutes and increased heat stress of leaves.

 Conclusion

• Recent research indicates that monsoon rainfall became less frequent but more intense in India during the latter half of the 20th century.
• Scientists and food experts believe that a better rainfall scenario could have helped increase the harvest.
• However, India’s hundreds of millions of rice producers and consumers are being affected negatively with these unprecedented changes which are also raising concerns over food security.

7 . Facts for Prelims

Web 3

• The premise of ‘Web 3.0’ was coined by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood shortly after Ethereum launched in 2014.
• He put into words a solution for a problem that many early crypto adopters felt: the Web required too much trust.
• That is, most of the Web that people know and use today relies on trusting a handful of private companies to act in the public’s best interests.
• Web3 has become a catch-all term for the vision of a new, better internet. At its core, Web3 uses blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs to give power back to the users in the form of ownership.
• Core ideas of Web3: Although it’s challenging to provide a rigid definition of what Web3 is, a few core principles guide its creation.
  •  Web3 is decentralized: instead of large swathes of the internet controlled and owned by centralized entities, ownership gets distributed amongst its builders and users.
  • Web3 is permissionless: everyone has equal access to participate in Web3, and no one gets excluded.
  • Web3 has native payments: it uses cryptocurrency for spending and sending money online instead of relying on the outdated infrastructure of banks and payment processors.
  • Web3 is trustless: it operates using incentives and economic mechanisms instead of relying on trusted third parties.

Eklavya Schools

• EMRS started in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education to ST children in remote areas in order to enable them to avail of opportunities in high and professional educational courses and get employment in various sectors.
• The schools focus not only on academic education but on the all-round development of the students.
• Each school has a capacity of 480 students, catering to students from Class VI to XII. Hitherto, grants were given for construction of schools and recurring expenses to the State Governments under Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution.
• In order to give further impetus to EMRS, it has been decided that by the year 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an EMRS.
• Eklavya schools will be on par with Navodaya Vidyalaya and will have special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.
• Across the country, as per census 2011 figures, there are 564 such sub-districts out of which there is an EMRS in 102 sub-districts. Thus, 462 new schools have to be opened by the year 2022.
• Wherever density of ST population is higher in identified Sub-Districts (90% or more), it is proposed to set up Eklavya Model Day Boarding School (EMDBS) on an experimental basis for providing additional scope for ST Students seeking to avail school education without residential facility.
•  Dedicated infrastructure for setting up Centre of Excellence for sports with all related infrastructure (buildings, equipment’s etc.) is supported.
  • This Centre of Excellence will have specialized state-of-the-art facilities for one identified individual sport and one group sport in each State. These CoE for Sports will have the State-of-the-Art facilities, equipment and scientific back up along with specialized training, boarding and lodging facilities, sports kit, sports equipment, competition exposure, insurance, medical expenses etc. as per norms of Sports Authority of India.

Niche modelling

• An ecological niche is the right set of environmental conditions under which an animal or plant species will thrive.
• Ecological niche modelling is a predictive tool for identifying new possibilities — new inhabitants for an existing habitat, or new geographical locations where a desirable plant may grow well.
• The modelling involves the use of computer algorithms to compare data about the environment and to make forecasts about what would be ideal for a given ecological niche.
• A recent paper highlights the uses that ecological niche modelling can be put to within the context of India’s geographies and agricultural economics.
• Researchers at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh used modelling strategies to examine the economically important spice, saffron.

Sea cucumber

• Sea cucumbers are echinoderms—like starfish and sea urchins.
• There are some 1,250 known species, and many of these animals are indeed shaped like soft-bodied cucumbers.
• All sea cucumbers are ocean dwellers, though some inhabit the shallows and others live in the deep ocean.
• They live on or near the ocean floor—sometimes partially buried beneath it.
• They feed on tiny particles like algae, minute aquatic animals, or waste materials, which they gather in with 8 to 30 tube feet that look like tentacles surrounding their mouths.
• The animals break down these particles into even smaller pieces, which become fodder for bacteria, and thus recycle them back into the ocean ecosystem. Earthworms perform a similar function in terrestrial ecosystems.
• Sea cucumbers, particularly eggs and young larvae, are prey for fish and other marine animals.
• They are also enjoyed by humans, especially in Asia, and some species are farmed as delicacies.
• When threatened, some sea cucumbers discharge sticky threads to ensnare their enemies. Others can mutilate their own bodies as a defense mechanism.
• They violently contract their muscles and jettison some of their internal organs out of their anus. The missing body parts are quickly regenerated.
• Sea cucumbers can breed sexually or asexually. Sexual reproduction is more typical, but the process is not very intimate.
• The animals release both eggs and sperm into the water and fertilization occurs when they meet. There must be many individuals in a sea cucumber population for this reproductive method to be successful. Indeed, many parts of the deep ocean host large herds of these ancient animals, grazing on the microscopic bounty of marine waters.

Atomic clocks

• An atomic clock is a clock that measures time by monitoring the resonant frequency of atoms. It is based on atoms having different energy levels.
• Electron states in an atom are associated with different energy levels, and in transitions between such states they interact with a very specific frequency of electromagnetic radiation.
• This phenomenon serves as the basis for the International System of Units’ (SI) definition of a second.
• With an error of only 1 second in up to 100 million years, atomic clocks are among the most accurate timekeeping devices in history.
• In an atomic clock, the natural oscillations of atoms act like the pendulum in a grandfather clock. However, atomic clocks are far more precise than conventional clocks because atomic oscillations have a much higher frequency and are much more stable.
• There are many different types of atomic clocks, but they generally share the same basic working principle.
• The accuracy of atomic clocks varies and is constantly improving. With an expected error of only 1 second in about 100 million years, the NIST-F1 in Boulder, Colorado, is one of the world’s most precise clocks.
  • It is called a caesium fountain clock where lasers concentrate the atoms into a cloud, cool them down, and then toss them upwards. This method slows the atoms down, allowing for a longer measurement period and a more precise approximation of the natural frequency of the atoms.