Daily Current Affairs :21st & 22nd November 2023

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. India – Australia Relationship
2. Governor’s role in passing bills
3. India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the India-Israel-UAE-U.S. (I2U2) 
4. Tantalum
5. Coal Dependence in Energy Generation
6. OECD Report on Climate Finance
7. Facts for Prelims

1 . India-Australia relationship

Context: For both Australia and India, China is the biggest trading partner, and China is our “biggest security anxiety”, said Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, making the opening remarks at the 2+2 dialogue. 

India-Australia relationship: Background

• India and Australia have commercial ties dating back to the 18th century, when India played a central role in nourishing the young colony and trade with Australia came to be an important element in the operations of the East India Company in Bengal. 
• For the next half century, Australia’s most immediate and direct links were with India rather than London, as bureaucrats, merchants, chaplains and judges moved between the two colonies.  
• India was an important source of food and provisions for Australia; by 1840 a ship was leaving Sydney for India roughly every four days, and merchants in Calcutta grew rich from supplying the new outpost. At the beginning of the 19th century, several British colonial families from India made a life for themselves in the new Australian colonies. 
• India first established a Trade Office in Sydney, Australia in 1941. 
• It is currently represented by a High Commissioner in the Indian High Commission at Canberra and Consulate generals in Sydney,  Perth and Melbourne. 
• Australia has a High Commission in New Delhi, India and Consulates in Mumbai and Chennai. 
• India and Australia have several commonalities, which serve as a foundation for closer cooperation and multifaceted interaction, on lines similar to what India has developed with other Western countries. Both are strong, vibrant, secular and multicultural democracies. 
• They both have a free press and an independent judicial system; the English language is an important link. Cricket, and now the large numbers of Indian students coming to Australia for education, are significant elements in awareness at the popular level.  
• The relationship has grown in strength and importance since India’s economic reforms in the nineties and has made rapid strides in all areas – trade, energy and mining, science & technology, information technology, education and defence. 

Areas of cooperation

• Strategic Partnership: Both countries have deepened their strategic ties, recognizing the importance of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. There is a focus on maritime security, defense cooperation, and counter-terrorism efforts. 
• Quad Partnership: India and Australia, along with Japan and the United States, are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a strategic forum focusing on regional security and economic issues. 
• Military Exercises: The two countries engage in joint military exercises like Malabar to enhance defence cooperation and interoperability. 
• Economic Ties: The Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) marks India’s first free trade agreement with a developed nation in ten years, coming into effect in December 2022. 
  • It has led to an immediate elimination of duties on 96% of Indian exports to Australia (98% of tariff lines) and zero duties on 85% of Australia’s exports to India. 
  • Additionally, both countries, along with Japan, are part of the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), aiming to bolster supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific Region. 
• Trade & Investment : Australia is India’s eighth largest trading partner and India is Australia’s fifth largest. India’s ranking among Australia’s export destinations has risen from twelfth to fourth in the period 2003-04 to 2009-10. 

Significance  

• Indo-Pacific Stability: Both countries play crucial roles in promoting stability, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. Collaborative efforts contribute to the balance of power in the region. 
• Minerals and Resources: Australia is a key source of minerals and resources for India’s growing economy. Collaboration in this sector ensures a stable supply chain for India’s industrial and infrastructural needs. 
• Strategic Geography: Australia’s geographic location in the southern hemisphere complements India’s strategic interests, contributing to the maritime security of the Indian Ocean and the broader Indo-Pacific. 
• Defense and Security Ties: Strengthening defense and security ties is crucial for addressing common security challenges. Both nations engage in joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, and defense technology collaboration. 
• Countering China through Supply Chain Resilience : Australia’s participation in the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) with India and Japan aims to enhance supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific region. 

Opportunities

• Trade and Investment: Opportunities to expand bilateral trade and investment in sectors like agriculture, minerals, technology, and services. Exploring avenues for reducing trade barriers and fostering a more conducive business environment. 
• Renewable Energy and Climate Action: Collaboration in renewable energy projects, including solar and wind energy. Joint efforts to address climate change through sustainable practices and innovations. 
• Infrastructure Development: Joint efforts in infrastructure development, including smart cities, transportation, and sustainable urban planning. Utilizing Australian expertise in large-scale infrastructure projects. 

Challenges in the relations

• Trade Barriers and Protectionism: Despite the Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA), both countries face challenges related to trade barriers and protectionist measures, affecting the smooth flow of goods and services. 
• Strategic Divergences: India and Australia may have divergent strategic interests and priorities, particularly in the context of regional geopolitics. Aligning their strategic visions can be challenging. 

2 . Governor’s role in passing bills

Context: The Supreme Court took note of the Tamil Nadu government’s argument that the Constitution does not provide Governor R.N. Ravi “discretion” to withhold the 10 Bills “re-passed” by the State Legislative Assembly. 

What does the Constitution say about the Governor’s role in giving assent to Bills? 

• While Article 163 of the Constitution deals with the powers of the Governor generally, Article 200 specifically deals with the issue of granting assent to Bills. 
• Both the provisions are read together to determine the contours of the power the Governor holds on this issue. 
• When a Bill passed by the legislature of a state is presented to the Governor, the Governor has four options: (1) grant assent to the Bill; (2) withhold assent to the Bills; (3) return the Bills for reconsideration; or (4) reserve the Bill for the consideration of the President. 
• Article 200 reads: “When a Bill has been passed by the Legislative Assembly of a State or, in the case of a State having a Legislative Council, has been passed by both Houses of the Legislature of the State, it shall be presented to the Governor and the Governor shall declare either that he assents to the Bill or that he withholds assent therefrom or that he reserves the Bill for the consideration of the President.” 
• However, the Article has a key proviso. It says that the Governor “may, as soon as possible” return Bills other than money Bills, with a message requesting that the House reconsider it in parts or in whole. However, once the Legislative House reconsiders the Bill and sends it to the Governor once again, the Governor “shall not withhold assent therefrom”. 
• The tug-of-war between the government and the Governor in the Opposition-ruled states essentially lies in the wordplay in the proviso. The proviso says the Governor must return the Bill “as soon as possible” but does not prescribe a specific timeframe. Raj Bhavans have exploited this ambiguity to sit on Bills indefinitely without returning them to the state legislature. 

But can a Governor in practice actually sit on a Bill forever? 

• An indefinite timeline in deciding on Bills can in effect amount to paralysing the elected government. At the same time, giving assent to Bills is one of the few areas in which the Governor can exercise his discretion. But again, this discretion cannot be used arbitrarily or based on a personal preference, but only in Constitutional terms with cogent reasons. 
• Additionally, Article 200 uses the word “shall” which indicates that the framers of the Constitution intended a mandatory tone for the Governor on this aspect. 
• The Supreme Court in its landmark 2016 ruling in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly case (Nabam Rebia and Bamang Felix vs Deputy Speaker) discussed this aspect briefly. 

What is the argument of the states in the Supreme Court? 

• Apart from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, and Punjab too, have sought the intervention of the Supreme Court on the issue. 
• Kerala in its plea has argued that three Bills have been pending with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan for more than two years, and three Bills for more than a year. 
• A PIL on this issue in the Kerala High Court had made the state government a respondent, but the HC refused to intervene, prompting the state to move the SC. 

What can the Supreme Court do now? 

• Several aspects dealing with the Governor’s powers — such as the role in recommending President’s Rule, inviting the party with a majority to form the government, or during a trust vote — have been litigated extensively, and there is now settled law on these aspects. 
• The SC has now been called upon to decide a new aspect — whether it can fix a timeline for Governors to give assent to Bills, which amounts to deciding whether it can prescribe limits to an office exercising constitutional powers. 
• In the past, the court has reluctantly fixed timelines for the Speaker’s office to decide disqualification cases. 
• A Governor cannot be made a party before the Supreme Court. Generally, therefore, the court issues notice to the Secretary of the Governor in such disputes. 

3 . India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and India-Israel-UAE-U.S. (I2U2)

Context: The Israel-Hamas conflict and bombardment of Gaza could “pause” progress on India-U.S. trade, and connectivity initiatives, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the India-Israel-UAE-U.S. (I2U2) groupings. 

India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC): 

• The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a planned economic corridor that aims to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe.  
• The corridor is proposed from India to Europe through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Greece. 
• It was was signed during the 2023 G20 New Delhi summit by the governments of India, United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, and European Union. 
• It aims to bolster transportation and communication links between Europe and Asia through rail and shipping networks and is seen as a USA counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. 
• The corridor will include a shipping route connecting Mumbai and Mundra (Gujarat) with the UAE, and a rail network connecting the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan with the Israeli port of Haifa to reach the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Haifa will then be connected by sea to the port of Piraeus in Greece to eventually be connected to Europe. 

Significance

• IMEC is significant from an infrastructure and connectivity perspective as well as from a geopolitical angle. According to the MoU, IMEC is “expected to stimulate economic development through enhanced connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe.” 
• It has other significant dimensions including reliable and secure regional supply chains, better trade accessibility, and trade facilitation. 
• In geopolitical terms, IMEC is touted as a counter to China’s BRI, but the scale and scope of the BRI is much greater. 

I2U2

• The I2U2 Group is a grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. 
• The group’s first joint statement states that the countries aim to cooperate on “joint investments and new initiatives in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security.” 
• Back in 2021, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries had taken place when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was visiting Israel. At that time, the grouping was called the ‘International Forum for Economic Cooperation.’ 
• The MEA said in its press release that the countries have had sherpa-level interactions regularly to discuss the possible areas of cooperation. 

What is the aim of the grouping

• Its stated aim is to discuss “common areas of mutual interest, to strengthen the economic partnership in trade and investment in our respective regions and beyond”. 
• Six areas of cooperation have been identified by the countries mutually, and the aim is to encourage joint investments in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security. 
• The press release added that with the help of “private sector capital and expertise”, the countries will look to modernise infrastructure, explore low carbon development avenues for industries, improve public health, and promote the development of critical emerging and green technologies. 
• The grouping also points to India’s growing engagement with countries in West Asia including Israel, with whom India has developed closer ties under PM Modi in the last few years. 

Significance for India

• Dehyphenation: Diversifying its foreign policy approach, India can enhance its relationship with Israel through the Abraham Accords while simultaneously maintaining strong ties with the UAE and other Arab nations. 
• In the global political arena, India’s involvement in the I2U2 grouping positions it as a leader in critical areas like climate cooperation, clean energy, and waste management. 
• Capitalizing on its substantial production capabilities, particularly in industries like automotive, India stands to gain significant market opportunities in the aforementioned three countries. Balancing its participation in the SCO, Quad, and I2U2, India can effectively safeguard its strategic autonomy on the international stage. 
• Economic significance: In a landmark development during the initial summit, the UAE pledged a substantial investment of USD 2 billion in India for the establishment of Food Parks across the nation. 

4. Tantalum

Context: A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar has found the presence of tantalum, a rare metal, in the Sutlej river sand in Punjab.  

What is tantalum? 

• Tantalum is a rare metal with the atomic number 73 ( the number of protons found in one atom of the element.)  
• It’s grey, heavy, very hard, and one of the most corrosion-resistant metals in use today. 
• It possesses high corrosion resistance because when exposed to air, it forms an oxide layer that is extremely difficult to remove, even when it interacts with strong and hot acid environments. 
• When pure, tantalum is ductile, meaning it can be stretched, pulled, or drawn into a thin wire or thread without breaking. 
•  it is almost completely immune to chemical attack at temperatures below 150°C, and is attacked only by hydrofluoric acid, acidic solutions containing the fluoride ion, and free sulphur trioxide. 
• Tantalum also has an extremely high melting point, exceeded only by tungsten and rhenium. 

When was tantalum first discovered? 

• Tantalum was discovered by Anders Gustaf Ekenberg, a Swedish chemist, in 1802 in minerals obtained from Ytterby, Sweden. 
• Initially, it was thought Ekenberg had found only a different form of niobium, an element that is chemically similar to tantalum. 
• The issue was finally settled in 1866 when, Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac, a Swiss chemist, proved that tantalum and niobium were two distinct elements. 

How did tantalum get its name? 

• It has been named after a Greek mythological figure Tantalus, the rich but wicked king of a town above Mount Sipylus in Anatolia.  
• Tantalus is best known for the terrible punishment he received from Zeus after the former tried to serve his son at a feast with the gods. 

What are the uses of tantalum? 

• Tantalum is most prominently used in the electronic sector. The capacitors made from tantalum are capable of storing more electricity in smaller sizes without much leakage than any other type of capacitor. This makes them ideal for use in portable electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, and digital cameras. 
• As tantalum has a high melting point, it is frequently used as a substitute for platinum, which is more expensive. It is also used to make components for chemical plants, nuclear power plants, aeroplanes and missiles. 
• Tantalum does not react with bodily fluids and is used to make surgical equipment and implants, like artificial joints.  

5 . Coal dependence in Energy generation

Context: Fossil fuels produce 80% of the total energy supplied worldwide. In 2022, oil, coal, and gas accounted for 30%, 27%, and 23% of the world’s total energy, while solar and wind energy sources together contributed only 2.4%. The per capita energy supplied in India in 2022 was 37% of the global average, and only 26% of that of China. Therefore, India’s energy needs will continue to grow. 

Status of Coal

• Coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs) generated 74.3% of India’s electricity during FY 2022-2023 and continue to increase their share. 
• The coal sector plays a vital role in infrastructure development and in the core sector industries which employ millions of people. 
• Ninety-six percent of the coal used by TPPs in India comes from domestic mines and is key to keeping electricity affordable in India. 
•  According to CEA TPP capacity in India will reach 259-262 GW by FY32, from 212 GW in FY23. 
• Recent projections indicate that only 19 GW of pumped storage projects and 18 GW battery storage capacity additions are expected by FY32, which will require a further 23 GW of TPP capacity to be added to the grid by then. 

Improving coal transport

• Coal deposits in India contain high levels of ash (35-50%) compared to those mined in other coal-mining countries. 
• Burning coal with more ash erodes boiler tubes and other components, affecting the plant’s availability, efficiency, and performance. 
• The transport of unwashed raw coal to TPPs located more than 500 km from the mines also means transporting millions of tonnes of ash-producing non-coal material, congesting India’s roads and rail transportation systems. 
• The practice in all major coal-producing countries is that the miner washes the high-ash coal at the pithead and dumps the rejects in the mine before dispatching the washed coal to consumers. 
• Therefore, the government can mandate miners to supply only washed coal to all TPPs located more than 500 km from mines to reduce emissions and pollution. The coal-washing cost can be fixed by the electricity regulator as a part of the tariff determination process. 

The issue with desulphurisers

• Indian coals generally have less sulphur than that mined in other coal-rich countries. 
•  TPPs in India have tall stacks, and the flue gas’ exit velocity plus favourable weather conditions means sulphur dioxide emissions are widely dispersed. Historical sulphur dioxide emissions have created a cooling effect by masking global temperature rise by 0.5 degrees Celsius. 
• Retrofitting existing TPPs with flue-gas desulphurisers (FGDs), increases their specific coal consumption by 1.5-1.7%, leading to lower efficiency and higher emissions. FGDs require large capital investments leading to tariff hikes. 
• India can therefore reduce particulate emissions by more than 99.97% by installing low-cost, high-performance electrostatic precipitators and reserve FGDs for TPPs near urban areas. 

Other development strategies

• Some 30% of the current TPP capacity in India is from supercritical or ultra-supercritical technologies.  
• The advanced ultra-supercritical technology (AUSC), with a proven efficiency of 46%, could further reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15% compared to supercritical technologies. 
• Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants also have efficiencies of 46-48% and can capture carbon dioxide.So the Government of India can incentivise deployment of IGCC or AUSC technologies at scale. 
• It can also repurpose some TPP sites to install small modular nuclear reactors under international safeguards to enhance zero-carbon electricity generation. 

Where does this leave coal? 

• Global warming is the result of the combustion of all fossil fuels, not just coal. The efficient operation of TPPs is critical for India since they ensure that peak and off-peak demands are met continuously, at affordable costs. 
• For India, low-carbon development is not a choice but a necessity, and the steps to achieve this are reflected in its ‘Long-term Low-Emissions Development Strategy’. 
• It is hoped that developed countries will take the lead in combating climate change and provide new and additional climate-specific financial resources and technology transfer to developing countries as per the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement. 

6 . OECD report on climate finance

Context: A new report, published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), showed that economically developed countries fell short of their promise to jointly mobilise $100 billion a year towards climate mitigation and adaptation needs of developing countries in 2021 — one year past the 2020 deadline. The report said that developed countries mobilised $89.6 billion in 2021 and that finances for adaptation fell by 14% in 2021 compared to 2020. 

Significance of the report

• The OECD is largely a group of rich countries including the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Switzerland, Canada, and others. The report offers a peek into their idea of climate finance ahead of the COP28 climate talks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the topic is expected to be a key bone of contention. 
• The report comes against the backdrop of a pledge by the bloc of developed nations at the COP26 talks in Glasgow, in 2020, to double adaptation finance. 

How is climate finance accounted for? 

• The OECD report showed that of the $73.1 billion mobilised in 2021 by the public sector via bilateral and multilateral channels, $49.6 billion was provided as loans. 
• While the report doesn’t classify them in terms of the rates at which they’re provided, data available elsewhere sheds light on the extent to which rich countries rely on loans at commercial rates to fulfil their climate finance obligations. 
• So, when the OECD report states that two-thirds of public climate financing was provided as loans, it means the conditions attached to such financing could further exacerbate debt stress in poorer countries. 
• This is also a critique of the OECD report as it considers loans at face value, not the grant equivalent, when arriving at total climate finance figures. This means that while poorer countries shell out money towards repayment and interest, the loan is still counted as climate finance provided by the developed world. 

What is additionality? 

• Another issue in the OECD report pertains to additionality. 
• The UNFCCC states that developed countries “shall provide new and additional financial resources to meet the agreed full costs incurred by developing country Parties in complying with their obligations under the convention”.  
• This means that developed countries cannot cut overseas development assistance (ODA) in order to finance climate needs. 
• The “new and additional finance” also means that developed countries cannot double-count. 

What counts as climate finance? 

• At present, there is no commonly agreed definition of ‘climate finance’ because developed countries have endeavoured to keep it vague. For example, at the COP27 in Egypt last year, Australia and the U.K. even sought to end discussions to define ‘climate finance’. 
• In the run up to the COP26 in Glasgow, the U.S. led an effort to block debate on a common definition, alongside Switzerland, Sweden, and some other developed countries. 
• The lack of definitional clarity has reportedly led to ridiculous situations like the funding of chocolate and gelato stores across Asia and a coastal hotel expansion in Haiti being tagged as climate finance. 
• The ambiguity works in favour of richer countries because it leaves the door open to arbitrarily classify any funding, including ODA and high-cost loans, as climate finance and escape the scrutiny that a clearer definition might bring. 
• Therefore, while developed countries can claim they have provided billions in climate finance, the actual flows need to be checked to know whether they went into climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries or something else. 

How much financial assistance do developing countries need? 

• The latest OECD report claims, based on preliminary and as-yet-unverified data, that the $100 billion goal was likely met in 2022. But the data is neither finalised nor published, and the advisable take-away is scepticism.  
• It is important to note that the figure of $100 billion came out of thin air at the COP15 talks and isn’t based on an assessment of how much climate investment developing countries actually need. 
• The OECD report added that by 2025, developing countries are estimated to require around $1 trillion a year in climate investments, rising to roughly $2.4 trillion each year between 2026 and 2030. 
• The $100 billion goal pales in comparison, dwarfed further by the fact that it remains unmet. 

Findings on Private Sector

• The report stated that private financing for climate action has stagnated for a decade, while public funding from multilateral channels, both multilateral development banks (MDBs) and multilateral climate funds, increased in the same period. 
• In 2021 in particular, it showed that private funding reverted to its 2019 level following a slight dip in 2020. 
• As a course-correction measure, the OECD report suggested de-risking with government intervention and called on MDBs to integrate private finance mobilisation strategies as part of their core objective. 
• The OECD report shows that even those who place hope in higher private funding for climate action in the future recognise that it is governments and MDBs that are the enabling parties here. 

7 . Facts for Prelims

Countries which declared Hamas as a terrorist organisation: 

• Apart from Israel, the following six countries, along with the European Union (EU), consider Hamas a terrorist organisation. 
• European Union: The EU first listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation in 2001 as part of its response against terrorism after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in the US. 
• Australia: Since 2001, Australia has listed Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist entity for financial sanctions. The military wing of Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was first listed as a terrorist organisation by Australia in 2003. In 2022, it listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation under its Criminal Code. 
• Canada: The Canadian government describes Hamas as a “radical Islamist-nationalist terrorist organization”. It was first listed as such in 2002. 
• United Kingdom: Initially, the UK government proscribed Hamas’s military wing in 2001. But this was extended to all of Hamas in 2021. 
• Japan: Following the Hamas attacks of October 7, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko said: “While Japan does not have a legal system for legally designating terrorist organisations, we have, under the Cabinet Understanding of September 30, 2003, designated Hamas as subject to Japan’s asset freezing for terrorists and others, among other measures.” 
• Paraguay: In 2019, Paraguay became the first South American country to officially recognise Hamas as a terrorist organisation. It also designated al-Qaeda and ISIS on the same day. 
• United States: The Department of State of the United States government designated Hamas and two other Palestinian groups, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in October 1997. These groups were also listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) in October 2001 

Solar Eclipse

• A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking or partially blocking the Sun’s light. This celestial event can be observed from specific regions on Earth and is classified into different types based on the alignment and visibility of the Sun, Moon, and Earth. 
• The eclipses of the sun and the moon occur during a new moon and full moon respectively. 
•  A solar eclipse does not occur at every new moon, because the moon orbits in a plane that is inclined to the ecliptic, which is the plane of orbit of the earth around the sun. The angle between the planes is about five degrees. As a result, the moon can pass well above or below the sun. 
• The line of intersection of the planes is called the line of nodes. There are only two points where the moon’s orbit intersects the ecliptic plane. The nodes move along the orbit from west to east, going completely around the ecliptic in about 19 years. 
• For an eclipse to occur, the moon has to be near one of the nodes. This does not happen on all new moon and full moon days. So eclipses do not occur on every new moon and full moon days. 

Exercise Vajra Prahar 

• It’s an annual exercise is hosted alternatively between Special Forces India and the United States. 
• Vajra Prahar 2023, the 14th edition of the exercise aimed at sharing the best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics, commenced in Meghalaya’s Umroi Cantonment. 
•  The first edition of the joint exercise was conducted in 2010. 

Sathee portal

• SATHEE (Self Assessment Test and Help for Entrance Exams) is an online coaching platform launched by the Ministry and the IIT-Kanpur. 
• It is an open learning platform available to students free. 
• It has launched a 45-day crash course for aspirants to test their level of preparation. 
• The portal uses artificial intelligence (AI) to interact with students, and can be customised to each student’s pace of learning. SATHEE’s integrated AI chatbot helps students align their learning needs. 
• It hosts lectures and video content prepared by Professors and students of the IITs, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). 
• Currently, digital learning material is available on the portal in English, Hindi, Odisha, and Telugu. 

Langlands programme

• In representation theory and algebraic number theory, the Langlands program is a web of far-reaching and consequential conjectures about connections between number theory and geometry. 
• Proposed by Robert Langlands (1967, 1970), it seeks to relate Galois groups in algebraic number theory to automorphic forms and representation theory of algebraic groups over local fields and adeles.  
• Widely seen as the single biggest project in modern mathematical research, the Langlands program has been described by Edward Frenkel as “a kind of grand unified theory of mathematics.” 

Ionosphere

• The Ionosphere is part of Earth’s upper atmosphere, between 80 and about 600 km where Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) and x-ray solar radiation ionizes the atoms and molecules thus creating a layer of electrons. 
• Ionosphere is important because it reflects and modifies radio waves used for communication and navigation.  
• Other phenomena such as energetic charged particles and cosmic rays also have an ionizing effect and can contribute to the ionosphere. 

Mandamus

• A Writ of Mandamus is a writ issued by a higher court against a subordinate court, a governmental body, or an official to correct prior conduct or omission to act in accordance with the level of responsibility that they are entitled to.  
• Public companies and courts can likewise be served with a Writ of Mandamus. 
• The British introduced the Writ of Mandamus in India in 1773 with the formation of the Supreme Court of Calcutta