It is the first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain Protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19.
It means it is made up of a specific part of SARS-CoV-2 – the spike protein on the virus’s surface.
The spike protein allows the virus to enter the cells in the body so that it can replicate and cause disease. However, when this protein alone is given to the body, it is not expected to be harmful as the rest of the virus is absent.
The body is expected to develop an immune response against the injected spike protein. Therefore, when the real virus attempts to infect the body, it will already have an immune response ready that will make it unlikely for the person to fall severely ill.
The vaccine is administered through an intramuscular route with two doses scheduled 28 days apart and is stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)
It is a regulatory mechanism to allow the use of vaccines and medicines to prevent and/or reduce the impact of life- threatening diseases or conditions as caused by COVID-19.
About Drugs Controller General of India
S/he is the head of department of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSO) of the Government of India.
Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation works in close collaboration with the state control administration and assist them in securing uniform enforcement of the Drug Act.
Responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood products, IV fluids, vaccines, and sera in India.
DCGI also sets standards for manufacturing, sales, import, and distribution of drugs in India.
Comes under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Context: Bharti Airtel has announced it had joined the SEA-ME-WE-6 undersea cable consortium to scale up the high-speed network for India’s emerging digital economy, as a major investor.
Key takeaways
The 19,200 Rkm (route kilometres) SEA-ME-WE-6 will connect Singapore and France.
It will be among the largest undersea cable system globally.
The 12 other consortium members of SEA-ME-WE-6 include Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Dhiraagu (Maldives), Djibouti Telecom, Mobily (Saudi Arabia), Orange (France), Singtel (Singapore), Sri Lanka Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia, and Telin (Indonesia).
Bharti will co-build four fiber pairs between Singapore – Chennai – Mumbai.
Reliance
Reliance Jio said it would land its India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) undersea cable system in Maldives.
The high-capacity and high-speed IAX system will connect Hulhumale directly with World’s major internet hubs in India and Singapore.
IAX system is expected to be ready for service by the end of 2023.
The service provider claims that these high capacity and high-speed systems will provide more than 200Tb/s of capacity at speeds of 100Gb/s, over 16,000 kilometers
Part of: Prelims and GS-III Science and technology
Context: Recently, a new study has revealed that moths (especially nocturnal pollinators) are vital to pollination in the Himalayan ecosystem of northeast India.
Key Highlights of the study
The study establishes 91 species of moths as potential pollinators of 21 plant families in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the northeastern Himalayas.
The results assume significance as a majority of the pollination-related studies are based on diurnal pollinators (bees and butterflies) and the role of nocturnal pollinators have so far received less scientific attention.
Teliphasa sp. (Crambidae) and Cuculia sp. (Noctuidae) are found to carry the highest quantity of pollen.
About Moths
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order.
Generally moths are considered mysterious denizens of nights, and for a long time they were better known as pest species.
There are about 12,000 moth species in India and about 160,000 moth species in the world, and the study can go a long way in understanding the role of the nocturnal insect pollinators.
Compared with butterflies, moths have stouter bodies and duller colouring.
Moths also have distinctive feathery or thick antennae.
The moth life cycle has four stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult (imago).
The larvae and adults of most moth species are plant eaters.
Part of: Mains GS-3: Security challenges and their management in border areas
In News: The Modi Government has approved the continuation of the Central Sector Umbrella Scheme of “Border Infrastructure and Management” (BIM) over the 15th Finance Commission Cycle from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Will strengthen the border infrastructure for improving border management, policing and guarding the borders.
Help in the creation of infrastructure such as construction of border fence, border flood lights, technological solutions, border roads and Border Outposts (BOPs)/Company Operating Bases (COBs) to secure the Indo-Pakistan, Indo-Bangladesh, Indo-China, Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Myanmar borders.
Significance of border infrastructure:
India’s land border covers around 15,106 km sharing boundaries with Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Varied terrains, climatic conditions and hostile neighbours make its borders complex and border management an important part of its security.
The major border security challenges: cross-border terrorism, infiltration and exfiltration of armed militants and insurgents, narcotics and arms smuggling; illegal migration; left-wing extremism and separatist movements aided by external powers.
Various strategies: India has actively pursued the strategy of strengthening of border policing and guarding, creation of border infrastructure like roads, fencing and flood lighting on the borders, implementation of the Coastal Security Scheme to strengthen coastal security infrastructure, implementation of Border Area Development Programme and development of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) on the land borders of the country including setting up of Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI).
Economic Advantages of border road infrastructure:
One of the most important advantages is development of legal and amicable trade relations with neighbouring countries. Examples of it are trade through Attari-Wagha border and Border Haats with Bangladesh and many more with Nepal, Bhutan, etc.
Proper border road infra will reduce trafficking and smuggling, which is currently a big cause concern for India and neighbouring countries.
There is huge untapped regional trade potential in South Asia, where most of the countries share borders with India.
Another major economic benefit is inclusive growth and development. Border road infrastructure, especially in harsh terrains such as northeast and Jammu & Kashmir provides avenue for self-employment and boost to traditional small scale Industries.
Furthermore, tourism in beautiful and lofty Himalayas has not reached to its full potential due to improper road infrastructure. To tap full potential of natural tourism avenues we must further improve our border road infra.
Strategic Advantages of border road infrastructure:
One of the major advantages is that through border road infra India will be successful in pushing for her ambitious neighbourhood first and act east policies. It will act as soft power in terms of creating people to people contacts. Best example of this is the most recent project of Kartarpur Corridor.
Border road infra helps in maintaining peace and stability by controlling the security concerns related to inter-region and intra-region issues.
The task of national integration which started with independence of India and still going on will be incomplete without border road infra. Connectivity and inclusivity are the important tools for national integration of far-flung areas such as Northeastern states and Ladakh, etc.
Economic avenues provided by such infra definitely leads to strategic benefits within and outside country to control menace of terrorism and secessionists’ activities.
Another important advantage of border roads is in proper and swift disaster management. Difficult and harsh terrains of Indian borders and relatively low development of bordering countries make it inevitable for India to prepared and self-sufficient to handle any kind of disasters.
Challenges ahead:
Rough and difficult terrain
Weather and Climatic conditions
Seismically active areas in most of the border
Cease fire violation and border intrusions
Inadequate manpower, funds with Border Road organisation (BRO)
Redtapism and bureaucratic delays in projects
India in geostrategic location:
Strategic location of the region: Countries of this region share borders with China, Afghanistan, Russia and Iran. Tajikistan is located in proximity to the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This region is seen as a Eurasian bridge, connecting countries of Asia to Europe.
India-Pakistan: Pakistan has a geostrategic location in South Asia where it will use Gwadar Port as a major trade route and a future trade hub. The importance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and with it the Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the One Belt One Road or the Silk Road Economic Belt
India- China: One is Aksai Chin, a virtually uninhabited high-altitude desert expanse of about 37,000 square kilometres. Aksai Chin lies between the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, and China’s Xinjiang province, both regions that are also riven by separatist conflicts. On the other side, Arunachal Pradesh, a diversely populated hill region with a population of around 1.4 million people spread out over 84,000 square kilometres is also a geostrategic location.
India- Nepal: holds a significant geopolitical position in the Himalayan region of the South Asia due to its geostrategic location acting as a buffer state between the two Asian giants- India and the China.
India- Bhutan: It is a sandwiched between two powerful nations, India and China. Because of its proximity to both the countries. India, is a close neighbour, has traditionally played a significant role in Bhutan. On the other hand Doklam plateau is an area with a plateau and a valley which lies on the Bhutan-China border, near India.
India-Myanmar: The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project will connect the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Myanmar by sea. Major strategic and commercial transport route connecting North-East India, and South Asia as a whole, to Southeast Asia
India- Bangladesh: Lying between the Himalayas in the north and the Bay of Bengal in the south, it offers the only land route connecting the two regions. Any invasion into South Asia from the East must pass through Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s close proximity to both India and China adds further to its geographic importance.
Part of: GS-1: Modern Indian History; Important personalities
A 102-year-old Gandhian social worker and freedom fighter
Hailing from Assam’s Kamrup, she worked for the wellbeing of villagers, especially women and children, and was popularly known as ‘Shakuntala Baideo’.
Earlier this year, she was named a Padma Shri award recipient by the Government of India.
Had joined the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust (KGNMT) in 1947 in Assam. In Assam, this Trust is known as the Kasturba Ashram or the Sarania Ashram, which Gandhi inaugurated in 1946.
She was a close associate of Vinayak Narahari ‘Vinoba’ Bhave, the man who started the Bhoodan Movement, and travelled with him to the rural parts of Assam and translated his lectures from Hindi to Assamese. She also led the Bhoodan Movement in Assam and was also associated with the ‘Ban Cow Slaughter Satyagraha’, which Bhave started in 1978.
Shakuntala Choudhary has also left her mark in the field of linguistics. She founded a monthly magazine ‘Asomiya Vishwa Nagari’ in Devanagari script to promote Devanagari. The magazine is still published, and it focuses on Gandhian ideals, thoughts, and spirituality.
News Source: PIB
MISCELLANEOUS
Birthplace of India’s Purple Revolution (Aroma Mission): Doda; Lavender designated as Doda brand product
Rural Connectivity GIS Data
GIS Data for 800,000+ rural facilities, 1 Million+ habitations and 25,00,000 km+ of rural roads collected and digitised using GIS platform will be made available to the public
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched in the year 2000, with an objective to provide all-weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected habitations throughout the nation. Later on upgradation and consolidation of through routes and major rural links was also included as its objective to give fillip to the rural economy
(Mains Focus)
GOVERNANCE/ ECONOMY
GS-2: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Context: Recent allegation of Corporate governance transgression by NSE management, particularly its former Chairman Chitra Ramakrishna.
What is the controversy all about?
Sharing of Confidential information with unknown Spiritual Guru
Market regulator SEBI recently stated in its order that Chitra Ramkrishna, a former chairperson of the National Stock Exchange was manipulated by a “Siddha Purusha/Yogi (an unidentified spiritual guru) and allegedly provided him confidential company information including the NSE’s five year projections, financial data, dividend ratio, business plans, agenda of board meetings and also consulted him on employee annual appraisals.
Appointment without due Process
Ms. Ramkrishna also appointed an individual, Anand Subramanian, first as chief strategic adviser and, next, as group operating officer without following due process, allegedly on the advice of this “spiritual person”.
Mr. Subramanian lacked the credentials for the job, the position was not advertised and Mr. Subramanian was interviewed solely by Ms. Chitra Ramkrishna.
He was recruited on a salary that was more than 10 times what he last drew and his salary was frequently revised without any evaluation being recorded.
Mr. Subramanian was hired as a consultant and progressively given operational powers until he became virtual second-in-command in the NSE hierarchy. Ms. Ramkrishna ensured he was not designated as a key management person as that would have meant bringing Mr. Subramanian within the ambit of regulation.
Tax angle
The income tax department is now probing possibilities of fund diversion to overseas accounts and possible tax evasion as they found frequent personal and official travel to tax havens like Singapore, Mauritius and Seychelles just before and after Chitra Ramkrishna’s exit from NSE.
Co-Location Case
CBI is also probing allegations that certain brokers (like OPG Securities Pvt. Ltd), in conspiracy with unknown officials of NSE, were given preferential access to NSE’s co-location facility during the period 2010-2012 that enabled it to login first to the exchange server of Stock Exchange.
This in turn helped these brokers to get the data before any other broker in the market. Even if the time advantage was limited to a split second such an advantage can result in windfall gains.
According to tax officials, these traders made gains to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore
CBI has also issued a look-out circular against Chitra Ramkrishna, former NSE CEO Ravi Narain and the exchange’s former COO Anand Subramanian in order to prevent them from leaving the country.
Ineffective Board
After the NSE board was informed about the irregularities in Mr. Subramanian’s appointment, it discussed the matter but chose to keep the discussions out of the minutes on grounds of confidentiality and the sensitivity of the matter.
Despite being aware of Ms. Ramkrishna’s transgressions, it allowed her to resign and on generous terms instead of taking action against her.
Public Interest Directors (PIDs) failed to keep SEBI informed about the goings-on at the NSE.
How did all this happen and how could it have gone on for so long?
The answers lie in the culture of the corporate world and the board room.
NSE rakes in enormous profits. In such a situation, boards would tend to think they can live with a degree of nepotism and other human failings in the CEO. For instance: ‘She’s doing a great job, she’s entitled to pick her team.’ Such an attitude may lead to governance failures at times.
The problem of dysfunctional or ineffective boards is structural. It has to do partly with the way board members are selected and partly with the absence of penalties where directors do not live up to their mandate.
What measures are required?
Reforming the selection of Board members
If we are to bring about meaningful change, we need to bring in diversity in the selection of board members.
The top management must be allowed to choose not more than 50% of the independent directors. The rest must be chosen by various other stakeholders — financial institutions, banks, small shareholders, employees, etc.
Then, we will have independent directors who are not beholden to the top management for their jobs. They will be accountable, not to the top management, but to stakeholders who have appointed them.
Ensure Accountability (including that of regulators) for lapses
In the NSE case, SEBI has penalised Ravi Narain who happened to be vice chairman. Mr. Narain has made the point that there is no reason why he should be singled out as the board of NSE was collectively responsible.
Regulators must penalise errant directors through a whole range of instruments — strictures, financial penalties, removal from boards and a permanent ban from board membership.
Lastly, regulators themselves must be held to account. For instance, questions have been raised as to why SEBI did not seek the help of the cyber police to ascertain the identity of the yogi.
We need periodic independent audits of all regulators by a panel of eminent persons. The audits must evaluate the regulators’ performance in relation to their objectives.
The internal processes and governance mechanisms of regulators must be subjected to the glare of public scrutiny. It is vital to guard the guardians.
Conclusion
Outrage after particular episodes will not take us very far. We need significant institutional reform if corporate governance is not to remain an illusion.
Can you answer these questions now?
What factors led to the recent controversy of National Stock Exchange? What measures are needed to prevent such issues from repeating?
What is the mandate of SEBI? Examine the recent issues pertaining to the functioning and role of SEBI in the regulatory context.
SCIENCE & TECH/ GOVERNANCE
GS-3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
Context: Non fungible tokens (NFTs) have, thanks to their ability to assign value to everything from art to music to a simple selfie, taken the world by storm.
The sales of NFTs surged $25 billion in 2021 as the crypto asset exploded in popularity, fuelled by the rising interest of celebrities and tech evangelists.
Where Bitcoin was hailed as the digital answer to currency, NFTs are now being touted as the digital answer to collectables, but plenty of sceptics fear they’re a bubble waiting to burst.
What is a non-fungible token?
In economics, a fungible asset is something with units that can be readily interchanged – like money.
With money, one can swap a £10 note for two £5 notes and it will have the same value.
However, if something is non-fungible, this is impossible – it means it has unique properties so it can’t be interchanged with something else.
It could be a house, or a painting such as the Mona Lisa, which is one of a kind. One can take a photo of the painting or buy a print but there will only ever be one original painting.
What are NFTs?
NFTs are “one-of-a-kind” assets in the digital world that can be bought and sold like any other piece of property, but which have no tangible form of their own.
The digital tokens can be thought of as certificates of ownership for virtual or physical assets.
Anything that can be converted into a digital form can be an NFT.
Everything from your drawings, photos, videos, GIF, music, in-game items, selfies, and even a tweet can be turned into an NFT, which can then be traded online using cryptocurrency.
But what makes NFTs unique from other digital forms is that it is backed by Blockchain technology.
Blockchain is a distributed ledger where all transactions are recorded. It is like your bank passbook, except all your transactions are transparent and can be seen by anyone and cannot be changed or modified once recorded.
How do NFTs work?
Traditional works of art such as paintings are valuable precisely because they are one of a kind.
But digital files can be easily and endlessly duplicated. With NFTs, artwork can be “tokenised” to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought and sold.
NFT works on blockchain as it gives users complete ownership of a digital asset.
As with crypto-currency, a record of who owns what is stored on a shared ledger known as the blockchain.
The records cannot be forged because the ledger is maintained by thousands of computers around the world.
For instance, if you’re a sketch artist, and if you convert your digital asset to an NFT, what you get is proof of ownership, powered by Blockchain.
NFTs can also contain smart contracts that may give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
So why are people willing to spend millions on something they could easily screenshot or download?
In simple words, when you list your NFT on a marketplace, you pay something called a gas fee (transaction fee) for using the Blockchain, following which your digital art is then recorded on Blockchain, mentioning that you (your address) own the particular NFT. This gives you full ownership—which cannot be edited or modified by anyone, including the marketplace owner.
An NFT is thus created or “minted”, to get exclusive ownership rights. NFTs can have only one owner at a time.
Apart from exclusive ownership, NFT owners can also digitally sign their artwork and store specific information in their NFTs metadata. This will be only viewable to the individual who bought the NFT.
How is an NFT different from cryptocurrency?
NFTs and cryptocurrencies are very different from each other. While both are built on Blockchain, that is where the similarity ends.
Cryptocurrency is a currency and is fungible, meaning that it is interchangeable.
But NFTs are non-fungible, which means the value of one NFT is not equal to another. Every art is different from other, making it non fungible, and unique.
Who can buy NFTs?
Anyone who holds a cryptocurrency wallet can buy an NFT. That is the only prerequisite to purchase an NFT.
One doesn’t need any KYC documents to purchase an art. All one needs is a cryptocurrency wallet powered by Metamask, and an NFT marketplace where you can buy and sell NFTs.
What are the risks associated with buying NFTs?
In the recent past, several incidents of NFT scams have been reported including: emergence of fake marketplaces, unverified sellers often impersonating real artists and selling copies of their artworks for half prices.
Another risk associated with NFTs that cannot be swept under the rug is the unquestionably negative impact on the environment. In order to validate transactions, crypto mining is done, which requires high powered computers that run at a very high capacity, affecting the environment ultimately.
In News: The government has unveiled the first part of the much-awaited National Hydrogen Policy.
Government is targeting production of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.
The policy allows free inter-state wheeling of renewable energy used in the production of green hydrogen and ammonia as it seeks to boost usage of the carbon-free fuel, and make India an export hub.
It offers 25 years of free power transmission for any new renewable energy plants set up to supply power for green hydrogen production before July 2025.
There will also be a single portal for all clearances required for setting up green hydrogen production as well as a facility for producers to bank any surplus renewable energy generated with discoms for upto 30 days and use it as required.
What is green hydrogen?
Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas produced through electrolysis of water — an energy intensive process for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen— using renewable power to achieve this.
Green hydrogen has specific advantages –
Environment Friendly: Green Hydrogen as energy source is seen as the next big thing as its usage would lead to zero emissions
Potential to Decarbonise various sectors: It is a clean burning molecule, which can decarbonise a range of sectors including iron and steel, chemicals, and transportation.
Efficient utilization of Renewable Energy: Renewable energy that cannot be stored or used by the grid can be channelled to produce hydrogen.
Reduced Dependence on Rare Minerals: Green Hydrogen also holds the key to clean electric mobility that doesn’t depend on rare minerals. Green Hydrogen helps achieve long-term vision of reduced dependency on minerals and rare-earth element-based battery as energy storage.
Helps Achieve Paris Goal: Green hydrogen energy is vital for India to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions and ensure regional and national energy security, access and availability
Energy Security: Green energy helps reduce import dependency on fossil fuels
How is the policy set to boost domestic production of green hydrogen production?
The new policy offers 25 years of free power transmission for any new renewable energy plants set up to supply power for green hydrogen production before July 2025.
This means that a green hydrogen producer will be able to set up a solar power plant in Rajasthan to supply renewable energy to a green hydrogen plant in Assam and would not be required to pay any inter-state transmission charges.
The move is likely going to make it more economical for key users of hydrogen and ammonia such as the oil refining, fertiliser and steel sectors to produce green hydrogen for their own use. These sectors currently use grey hydrogen or grey ammonia produced using natural gas or naphtha.
What are the incentives?
The government is set to provide a single portal for all clearances required for setting up green hydrogen production as well as a facility for producers to bank any surplus renewable energy generated with discoms for upto 30 days and use it as required.
Energy plants set up to produce green hydrogen/ammonia would be given connectivity to the grid on a priority basis.
Power distribution companies may also procure renewable energy to supply green hydrogen producers but will be required to do so at a concessional rate which will only include the cost of procurement, wheeling charges and a small margin as determined by the state commission, under the new policy. Such procurement would also count towards a state’s Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) under which it is required to procure a certain proportion of its requirements from renewable energy sources.
What are the facilities to boost export of green hydrogen and ammonia?
Under the policy port authorities will also provide land at applicable charges to green hydrogen and green ammonia producers to set up bunkers near ports for storage prior to export.
Germany and Japan could be key markets for green hydrogen produced in India.
Challenges with regard to Hydrogen Fuel
Fuelling Infrastructure: A big barrier to the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has been a lack of fuelling station infrastructure — fuel cell cars refuel in a similar way to conventional cars, but can’t use the same station (only 500 in the world & that too in Europe, Japan, South Korea)
Safety is seen as a concern: Hydrogen is pressurised and stored in a cryogenic tank, from there it is fed to a lower-pressure cell and put through an electro-chemical reaction to generate electricity.
Scaling up the technology and achieving critical mass remains the big challenge. More vehicles on the road and more supporting infrastructure can lower costs.
What next?
The government is set to come out with mandates requiring that the oil refining, fertiliser and steel sectors procure green hydrogen and green ammonia for a certain proportion of their requirements. The mandate for the refining sector could start at 15-20 per cent of the sectors total requirement.
Can you answer the following questions?
How will it benefit producers of green hydrogen? How will it boost India’s energy security? Discuss.
Will it help us achieve the net zero emission targets? Critically examine.
(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)
Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)
Q.1 Consider the following statements:
The moth life cycle has four stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult (imago).
The larvae and adults of most moth species are plant eaters.
Which of the above is or are correct?
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Q.2 Consider the following statements regarding Corbevax:
It is the first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain Protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19.
It means it is made up of a specific part of SARS-CoV-2 – the spike protein on the virus’s surface.
Which of the above is or are correct?
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Q.3 SEA-ME-WE-6 and India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) are associated with which of the following?
Asia Bullet train
Undersea cable
GSLV satellite by ASEAN nations
None of the above
ANSWERS FOR 22nd Feb 2022 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK)
1
C
2
C
3
B
Must Read
On the history of International Mother Language Day:
