Daily Current Affairs : 18th December 2023

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Transition away from Fossil Fuels
2. Study on Molecules found in Enceladus Plume
3. Nuclear Power Plant
4. CEC Bill
5. Facts for Prelims

1 . Transition away from Fossil Fuels  

Context : The 28th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP) concluded in Dubai this week with 198 signatory countries agreeing that the world must “transition” away from fossil fuels in a “just, orderly and equitable manner” to achieve net zero by 2050. 

Is the end of fossil fuels near 

• Dubai Consensus is significant only because this is the first time since 1995, when the first ever COP was held in Berlin, that there is a formal acknowledgement that emissions from fossil fuels are the main culprit driving global warming. So far, all agreements have only spoken of the need to stem “greenhouse gas emissions.”  
• This is despite it being common knowledge that three-fourth of such emissions and 90% of carbon dioxide are the result of burning coal, oil and gas. It was only in the 26th edition of the COP, in Glasgow in 2021, that countries agreed to tackle coal — the fossil fuel with the biggest global-warming footprint — by agreeing to “phase down” its use.  
• “phase down” and “phase out” have no meaning on their own because they do not refer to any specific year by which the use of these fuels must terminate.  

Stance of Developing  an Developed Countries 

• Large, developing countries like India and China, have protested against the singling out of coal among fossil fuels, on the grounds that they need them for lifting their masses out of poverty and providing energy security.  
• India, while rich in coal reserves, is still an importer of the product and has limited oil and gas reserves. China is rich in both coal and gas.  
• The United States, that derives about a fifth of its energy from coal, has usually been supportive of calls to phase out coal but being heavily dependent on oil and gas reserves, has never voiced any call to action to eliminate the latter two. 
•  However, now that all fossil fuels have been included in the Dubai Consensus, it brings parity among fuels and acknowledgement that they all need to be done away with for the world to have a chance at preventing global, average temperatures from rising 1.5 degree Celsius over pre-industrial levels. But because there are no timelines yet, fossil fuels are going to be the mainstay of economies everywhere in the years to come. 

What does the Dubai Consensus say about methane? 

• Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and has several times more heat-trapping capabilities compared to carbon dioxide.  
• It is a key component of natural gas and responsible for about a third of planetary warming just behind carbon dioxide. “Accelerating and substantially reducing non-carbon-dioxide emissions globally, including in particular methane emissions by 2030,” is necessary for humanity to have a shot at keeping average temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degree Celsius by the end of the century, the agreement notes.  
• The Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions 30% of 2020 levels by 2030 was signed on by nearly 150 countries at the COP-27 summit in Egypt, last year. China and the U.S. have also agreed to address industrial methane emissions, that result from natural gas production. 
• India has resisted pressure to cut methane emissions on the grounds that most of its methane results from the agricultural sector. However, it has unveiled plans to make its energy production processes more efficient to reduce its release 

2 . Study on Molecules found in Enceladus Plume 

Context :  Molecules including methanol, ethane, and oxygen are present in gaseous plumes emitted from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, a re-analysis of data from the Cassini mission suggests. The findings are published in Nature Astronomy. 

Background

• The Cassini spacecraft first discovered large plumes of material escaping into space from Enceladus’s southern hemisphere in 2005.  
• These plumes appear to be coming from a subsurface ocean through fissures in the moon’s icy surface. Analyses of data from Cassini’s Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) collected during flybys in 2011 and 2012 determined the presence of water, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and molecular hydrogen in the samples. 

Key Findings of the Study

• Jonah Peter from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California and others re-examined data processed by the INMS instrument team and compared it to a large library” of known mass spectra.  
• Using a statistical analysis technique, which analysed billions of potential compositions of the plume material, they identified that the most likely composition of the plumes is the five already identified molecules along with newly identified hydrocarbons hydrogen cyanide (HCN), acetylene (C₂H₂), propylene (C₃H₆), and ethane (C₂H₆), and traces of an alcohol (methanol)and molecular oxygen.  
• The authors suggest that this compositionally diverse chemical reservoir under the surface of Enceladus may be consistent with a habitable environment and could potentially support microbial communities.  
• The ability of these compounds to support life on Enceladus, however, depends largely on how diluted they may be in the moon’s subsurface ocean, the authors note. 

Cassini mission 

• Cassini was one of the most ambitious efforts ever mounted in planetary exploration. A joint endeavor of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency), and the Italian space agency (ASI), Cassini was a sophisticated robotic spacecraft sent to study Saturn and its complex system of rings and moons in unprecedented detail. 
• Cassini carried a probe called Huygens to the Saturn system. The probe, which was built by ESA, parachuted to the surface of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in January 2005—the most distant landing to date in our solar system. Huygens returned spectacular images and other science results during a two-and-a-half-hour descent through Titan’s hazy atmosphere, before coming to rest amid rounded cobbles of ice on a floodplain damp with liquid methane. 
• Cassini completed its initial four-year mission in June 2008 and earned two mission extensions that enabled the team to delve even deeper into Saturn’s mysteries. Key discoveries during its 13 years at Saturn included a global ocean with strong indications of hydrothermal activity within Enceladus and liquid methane seas on Titan. The mission ended on Sept. 15, 2017. 

 3 . Nuclear Power Plant

Context: Indigenously built Unit-4 at Kakrapar attains criticality. 

About the news

• The fourth unit of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP) in Gujarat started controlled fission chain reaction and thus became critical. 
• The project’s units with a capacity of 700 MWe each are the largest indigenous nuclear power reactors to be built by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL), a public sector undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy. 
• Unit-3 of the KAPP started generating commercial electricity from August 30. These reactors are pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), which use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as coolant and moderator.
• The NPCIL is already operating indigenous PHWRs with 220-MWe and 540-MWe capacity at other facilities. The reactor’s first criticality was ascertained after it met all the conditions set out by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), India’s nuclear safety watchdog.

What are Nuclear Power Plants?  

• Nuclear power plants are a type of power plant that use the process of nuclear fission in order to generate electricity.
• They do this by using nuclear reactors in combination with the Rankine cycle, where the heat generated by the reactor converts water into steam, which spins a turbine and a generator. 
• Nuclear power reactors use heat produced during atomic fission to boil water and produce pressurized steam. The steam is routed through the reactor steam system to spin large turbines blades that drive magnetic generators to produce electricity.
• Nuclear fission occurs when a neutron slams into a larger atom, forcing it to excite and split into two smaller atoms—also known as fission products. Additional neutrons are also released that can initiate a chain reaction. When each atom splits, a tremendous amount of energy is released.
• At the center of a nuclear reactor is the core, which contains fuel fabricated from uranium ore. Uranium ore is mined and processed to be eventually formed into ceramic pellets. Each ceramic pellet produces about the same amount of energy as 150 gallons of oil. These energy-rich pellets are stacked end-to-end in 12-foot fuel rods that are loaded into the reactor fuel assembly for plant operation.

 Criticality

• Criticality is the condition in a nuclear reactor where the rate of neutron production equals the rate of neutron loss, leading to a self-sustained chain reaction.  
• It is a crucial phase for maintaining a stable and controlled nuclear reaction. 
• Nuclear reactors rely on a chain reaction, where the fission of one atomic nucleus releases neutrons that cause the fission of other nuclei. Criticality ensures that this chain reaction remains constant and controllable. 

Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

• A pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using unenriched natural uranium as its fuel, that uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D₂O) as its coolant and moderator.
• The heavy water coolant is kept under pressure, allowing it to be heated to higher temperatures without boiling, much as in a typical pressurized water reactor.
• While heavy water is significantly more expensive than ordinary light water, it yields greatly enhanced neutron economy, allowing the reactor to operate without fuel enrichment facilities (mitigating the additional capital cost of the heavy water) and generally enhancing the ability of the reactor to efficiently make use of alternate fuel cycles.

Nuclear Plants in India

• Tarapur Atomic Power Plant,  
• Narora Atomic Power Plant 
• Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant 
• Kaiga 
• Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station

4 . CEC Bill

Context: the Rajya Sabha passed The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Office and Terms of Office) Bill, 2023. 

What does the Constitution say? 

• Article 324 provides for the composition of the Election Commission of India (ECI). It consists of the CEC and two other ECs.  
• The Constitution provides that the appointment of the CEC and EC shall, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, be made by the President.  
• While the existing parliamentary law provides for their conditions of service, it is silent with respect to appointments. 
• The appointments till date are made by the President, that is the Central Government and there is no mechanism for ensuring independence during the appointment process. 

What did the Supreme Court rule? 

• A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Anoop Baranwal in 2015 pleaded for the Supreme Court to issue directions to set up an independent, collegium-like system for the appointment of the CEC and ECs. 
• The Supreme Court in this case, in 2023, held that there has been a legislative vacuum due to the absence of any law by Parliament in the last 73 years (since the adoption of the Constitution) with respect to the appointment of the CEC and EC.  
• The independence of the ECI is essential for ensuring free and fair elections that is paramount for a vibrant democracy.  
• The Supreme Court drew reference to various other institutions supporting constitutional democracy that have independent mechanisms for the appointment of its head/members like the National and State Human Rights Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Information Commission, Lokpal etc. 
• In the past, the Dinesh Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms (1990) and the Law Commission in its 255th report on Electoral Reforms (2015), had suggested that the CEC and ECs should be appointed by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the Leader of the Opposition or the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. 
• Considering these recommendations, the Supreme Court, exercising its powers under Article 142 (to issue directions for doing ‘complete justice’ in any matter), laid down that the CEC and ECs shall be appointed by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader of the Opposition or the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha. It said that this mechanism shall be in place till Parliament enacts a law on this matter. 

What does the proposed law provide? 

• The CEC and other ECs shall be appointed from persons who are holding or have held a post equivalent to the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. 
•  There shall be a search committee headed by the Minister of Law and Justice, who shall prepare a panel of five persons for consideration to the selection committee. 
•  The CEC and EC shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of this selection committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.  
• It is for the first time that the Parliament is proposing a structured mechanism for identification of suitable persons for the post of CEC and EC. However, this bill removes the CJI from the selection process that was laid down in the Anoop Baranwal case. 

What are the best practices globally? 

• The international practices for selection and appointment of members to the electoral body varies between different democracies. In South Africa, the President of the Constitutional Court, representatives of the Human rights Court and gender equality are involved. 
•  In the U.K., the House of Commons approves the candidates, whereas in the U.S., the appointment is by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 
• While the proposed Bill moves the appointment process from just an executive decision to a committee-based selection, it is still tilted in favour of an incumbent government. 
•  The Supreme Court had considered the recommendations of various committees and also the mechanism for appointment to certain independent bodies like the CBI (where the CJI is involved) before laying down its selection procedure. 
•  While it is the prerogative of Parliament to legislate on this subject, it may have been appropriate to retain the CJI in the selection committee to ensure utmost independence.  
• However, in all likelihood the Bill is likely to be enacted into a law in its present form. It would be laudable and instil a great deal of confidence in the public about the functioning of the ECI, if at least the selections under the new law are made by unanimous decisions by the proposed selection committee. 

5 . Facts for Prelims

influenza A (H1N2)

• Influenza A virus subtype H1N2 (A/H1N2) is a subtype of the species Influenza A virus(sometimes called bird flu or swine flu.)  
• It is currently endemic in pig populations and is occasionally seen in humans.  
• The virus does not cause more severe illness than other influenza viruses, and no unusual increases in influenza activity have been associated with it. 

JN1 SARS COV 2

• JN.1 is closely related to BA.2.86, a fellow Omicron descendent that first popped up in the U.S. this past summer. 
• The two variants are nearly identical, according to the CDC, except for a single difference in their spike proteins, the part of the virus that allows it to invade human cells. 
• The first case of JN.1 was identified in a positive RT-PCR sample in Karakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 

 Abel Prize and Field’s medal

• The Abel Prize is an international prize presented by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. 
• Named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829), the Abel Prize and the Fields Medal have often been described as the “Mathematician’s Nobel Prizes”. 
• The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The name of the award honours the Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields.  

Autonomous bodies under Women and Child Ministry

• The Ministry has 6 autonomous organizations working under its aegis.  
  • National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD)
  • National Commission for women (NCW)
  • National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
  • Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA)
  • Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB)
  • Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)

Zero trust security model

• The zero trust security model, also known as zero trust architecture (ZTA), and sometimes known as perimeterless security, describes an approach to the strategy, design and implementation of IT systems.
• The main concept behind the zero trust security model is “never trust, always verify,” which means that users and devices should not be trusted by default, even if they are connected to a permissioned network such as a corporate LAN and even if they were previously verified.
• ZTA is implemented by establishing strong identity verification, validating device compliance prior to granting access, and ensuring least privilege access to only explicitly authorized resources.