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Time: 45 min Date: 16-09-2021

Science and Technology

National Engineer’s Day

Syllabus: GS3/ Achievement of Indians in Science and Technology

In Context

● Every year on September 15, India along with Sri Lanka and Tanzania celebrate

National Engineer’s day to recognise and honour the achievements of the great

engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.

About

● This day is observed to acknowledge and honour all engineers in the country who

have contributed and are still working towards a modern and developed India.

● India has been celebrating Engineers Day on September 15, since 1968.

● It is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sir Mokshagundam

Visvesvaraya.

About Sir M.Visvesvaraya

● Born in 1861, Sir Visvesvaraya completed his engineering from the Poona

College of Science.

● He worked as Assistant Engineer in the Public Works Department, Maharashtra.

● He was 22 at that time and one of his first projects was to construct a pipe syphon

across one of Panjra river’s (in Maharashtra) channels.

● His work was becoming so popular that the Government of India sent him to Aden

(Yemen) to study water supply and drainage systems in 1906-07.

● In November 1909, he joined the Mysore service as Chief Engineer, ultimately

assuming the position of the 19th Dewan of Mysore.

● He was an Engineer who had planned the Indian Economy in 1934.

● He took voluntary retirement in 1918 for a social cause.

● He passed away in 1962 leaving behind a legacy in the technical field.

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Major Contributions:

● He established the Sir Jayachamarajendra Occupational Institute in Bangalore

in 1943. It was meant to impart special training to technicians keeping in mind the

impending industrial development of India.

● His works, “Reconstructing India” and “Planned Economy of India” were

published in 1920 and 1934, respectively.

➢ His “Memoirs of Working Life” was published in 1951.

● Technical Contributions:

○ He played a significant role in constructing dams, reservoirs and hydro-

power projects across India.

○ His high architect projects are Krishna Raja Sagar dam in Karnataka and

flood protection system in Hyderabad.

○ He also designed ‘automatic barrier water floodgates’ installed at the

Khadakvasla reservoir in Pune in 1903.

● Accreditation under his name:

● In 1912, he was appointed as the Dewan by the Maharaja of Mysore. He

worked persistently for the overall development of the state.

● In 1915, he was knighted as the Commander of the Order of the Indian

Empire (KCIE) by the British for his work and contribution to society.

● In 1955, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

● He was awarded an Honorary Membership of London Institution of Civil

Engineers for an unbroken 50 years.

● An irrigation system called 'block system' was patented by his name, in

1903.

● He was also known as the "Father of Modern Mysore State”.

Source: IE

Biodiversity & Environment

Arsenic Contamination in Food Chain Syllabus: GS3/ Environment Pollution & degradation

In News

● As per a study by Bihar Pollution Control Board, the arsenic contamination has

found its way into the food chain- mainly rice, wheat and potato.

○ Arsenic contamination in groundwater has been a growing concern in

several parts of the country.

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Arsenic (As)

● Arsenic is a naturally occurring trace element that occurs in many minerals,

usually in combination with sulfur and metals.

○ It can also exist as a pure elemental crystal.

○ It is a metalloid and has various allotropes.

○ Only the gray form, which has a metallic appearance, is important to

industry.

● Arsenic has been recognized as a toxic element and is considered a human health

hazard.

● It can occur in both organic and inorganic form.

○ Inorganic arsenic compounds (such as those found in water) are highly

toxic

○ The organic arsenic compounds (such as those found in seafood) are less

harmful to health.

● It is now recognized that at least 140 million people in 50 countries have been

drinking water containing arsenic at levels above the WHO provisional

guideline value of 10 μg/L.

Permissible Limits

● The World Health Organization’s provisional guideline value for arsenic in

drinking water is 0.01 mg/l (10 μg/l).

● The permissible limit of arsenic in India in the absence of an alternative source

is 0.05 mg/l (50 μg/l).

Health hazards due to Arsenic

● Acute effects:

○ The immediate symptoms of acute arsenic poisoning include vomiting,

abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

○ These are followed by numbness and tingling of the extremities, muscle

cramping and death, in extreme cases.

● Long-term effects:

○ Affects Skin and can lead to Skin Cancer

■ The first symptoms of long-term exposure to high levels of

inorganic arsenic are usually observed in the skin, and include

● pigmentation changes, skin lesions and hard patches on the

palms and soles of the feet (hyperkeratosis).

■ These occur after a minimum exposure of approximately 5 years

and may be a precursor to skin cancer.

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○ Bladder and Skin Cancer

■ The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has

classified arsenic and arsenic compounds as carcinogenic to

humans.

● It has also stated that arsenic in drinking-water is

carcinogenic to humans.

○ Developmental Effects, Diabetes, Pulmonary disease & Cardiovascular

disease

■ Arsenic-induced myocardial infarction, in particular, can be a

significant cause of excess mortality.

■ In Taiwan, arsenic exposure has been linked to “Blackfoot

disease”.

● It is a severe disease of blood vessels leading to gangrene.

○ Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes, Infant Mortality and Child Health

■ Exposure in utero and in early childhood has been linked to an

increase in mortality in young adults due to

● multiple cancers,

● lung disease,

● heart attacks, and

● kidney failure.

■ Numerous studies have demonstrated negative impacts of arsenic

exposure on cognitive development, intelligence, and memory.

Sources of Arsenic and exposure

● Drinking water and food:

○ The greatest threat to public health from arsenic originates from

contaminated groundwater.

○ Inorganic arsenic is naturally present at high levels in the groundwater of

a number of countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China,

India, Mexico, and the USA.

○ Drinking-water, crops irrigated with contaminated water and food

prepared with contaminated water are the sources of exposure.

○ Fish, shellfish, meat, poultry, dairy products and cereals can also be

dietary sources of arsenic.

● Industrial processes:

○ Arsenic is used industrially as an alloying agent, as well as in the

processing of glass, pigments, textiles, paper, metal adhesives, wood

preservatives and ammunition.

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● Tobacco and smoking:

○ A person who smokes tobacco can also be exposed to the natural inorganic arsenic content of tobacco.

■ It is because tobacco plants can actively take up arsenic naturally present in the soil.

● Earth’s crust:

○ Arsenic is a natural component of the earth’s crust and is widely distributed throughout the environment in the air, water and land.

○ It is highly toxic in its inorganic form.

● Volcanic action:

○ Around 1/3rd of the arsenic in the Earth’s atmosphere is of natural origin.

○ Volcanic action is the most important natural source

Arsenic Contamination: Status in India

● Increasing Area under Arsenic Contamination:

○ The number of arsenic-affected habitations in India has increased by 145% in the last five years (2015-20).

○ India had 1,800 arsenic-affected habitations in 2015.

○ This increased to 4,421 habitations as of September 2020.

● Affected Regions:

○ The occurrence of Arsenic in groundwater was first reported in 1980 in

West Bengal in India.

○ Maximum number of the arsenic-affected habitations are in the Ganga and Brahmaputra alluvial plains.

■ They are distributed across Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh (UP).

● States Performance:

○ Assam had the highest share of As contaminated habitations (1,853), followed by West Bengal (1,383).

○ However, Karnataka which had nine habitations in 2015, had none in 2020.

● Menace in Bihar and West Bengal:

○ Out of its 38 districts, 22 were reported to have arsenic in drinking water above the WHO provisional guide value of 10 μg /L.

○ The recent major cause of concern is the presence of arsenic in the food chain in Bihar through irrigation water.

○ Three common eatables - rice, wheat and potato - have elevated levels of arsenic that increases the disease burden in exposed persons.”

■ Arsenic content in food items was higher than that in drinking water.

■ The concentration was higher in cooked rice compared to raw rice.

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Source: Vikaspedia

Solutions to mitigate the Challenges

● Muktoshri: Arsenic Resistant Rice

○ It has been developed jointly by

■ the Rice Research Station at Chinsurah, coming under West Bengal’s Agriculture Department and

■ the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow.

○ The research and development in agri-engineering can help in reducing the Arsenic content in food.

○ Similar research can be extended to other crops.

● Water Treatment Methods

○ There are multiple Arsenic removal techniques available world wide like oxidation, coagulation-flocculation, and membrane techniques.

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● Other Simpler Methods

○ Uses of surface water sources

○ Exploring and harnessing alternate arsenic free aquifer

○ Adopting rainwater harvesting/ watershed management practices.

Government Schemes for mitigating such challenges

● Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM):

○ JJM was started in 2019 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

○ Aim: To provide piped water supply to every household by 2024.

○ Priority has been given to such quality-affected habitations through

Community Water Purification Plants (CWPP).

■ The CWPP will meet drinking and cooking needs- until potable

water supply through tap connection is provided.

○ Under JJM, upto 2% of the allocation to states/ UTs can be utilised for

Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance activities (WQM&S).

● A new Sub-programme under National Rural Drinking Water Programme

(NRDWP) viz. National Water Quality Sub-Mission (NWQSM)

○ It was started by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (now the

Ministry of Jal Shakti) in 2017.

○ Aim: To address the urgent need for providing clean drinking water in

about 28000 Arsenic & Fluoride affected habitations.

○ The NWQSM aims to cover all rural populations in Arsenic/Fluoride

affected habitats by March 2021.

○ NRDWP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with 50:50 fund sharing between

the Centre and the States.

Way Ahead

● To combat Arsenic Pollution, focussing only on drinking water will not be

sufficient, rather the focus should also be on irrigation water.

● The strengthened canal system may reduce the farmers' dependence on

groundwater.

● Differences in the sampling frame, mitigations and public education / awareness

interventions by various agencies can go a long way in ensuring the safe potable

drinking water and food to millions of Indians.

Source: DTE

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Indian Economy

'Shoonya' Programme Syllabus: GS3/Infrastructure, Indian Economy, GS2, Government policies 7 interventions

In News

● The NITI Aayog in collaboration with RMI and RMI India launched the 'Shoonya' programme.

○ RMI is an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1982.

'Shoonya' Programme

● About:

○ It is an initiative to promote zero-pollution delivery vehicles by working with consumers and the industry.

○ As part of the campaign, a corporate branding and certification programme is being launched to recognise and promote the industry’s efforts towards transitioning to EVs for final-mile deliveries.

● Aim:

○ To accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the urban deliveries segment and create consumer awareness about the benefits of zero-pollution delivery.

● Online tracking platform:

○ This will share the campaign’s impact through data such as vehicle kilometres electrified, carbon savings, criteria pollutant savings and other benefits from clean delivery vehicles.

Benefits & Need

● Decarbonising transport: Transport emits around 23% of the energy-related CO2 that feeds global warming.

● Boost to the research: In the field of alternatives technologies like lithium, e-metal etc.

● Reduce Oil imports: Reduce oil dependency while solving the challenge of energy scarcity.

● Improving Infrastructure: Potential for energy savings in infrastructure.

● Employment generation

Government Initiatives

● National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP)

● Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric vehicles in India (FAME India)

● National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage

● Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for e- vehicle

● Lower GST on E-vehicle

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Challenges

● Lack of Crucial Resources like Lithium reserves

● Lack of infrastructural support

● Lack of Skill & technological support

● Time-consuming for the change

Way Forward

● Increase coordination with the government & other stakeholders

● Invest in R&D

Source: PIB

International relations

Groundswell Report: World Bank Syllabus: GS 2/International Organisations & Groupings

In News

● Recently, the World Bank released a Groundswell report.

Major Findings of the report

● Migration: Sub-Saharan Africa will have the largest number of internal climate

refugees by 2050.

○ By 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa could see as many as 86 million internal climate migrants

■ East Asia and the Pacific, 49 million

■ South Asia, 40 million

■ North Africa, 19 million

■ Latin America, 17 million

■ Eastern Europe and Central Asia, five million.

● Causes: Climate change can force some 216 million people to move within their own countries by 2050,

○ Hotspots of internal climate migration can emerge as early as 2030 and continue to spread and intensify by 2050.

■ Climate change is a powerful driver of internal migration because of its impacts on people’s livelihoods and loss of livability in highly exposed locations.

● Required Actions: It found that immediate and concerted action to reduce global emissions and support green, inclusive and resilient development, could reduce the scale of climate migration by as much as 80 per cent.

○ Planning is needed both in the areas where people will move to and in the areas they leave to help those who remain.

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● Recommendations: The report provides a series of policy recommendations that can help slow the factors driving climate migration and prepare for expected migration flows, including:

● Reducing global emissions and making every effort to meet the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.

● Embedding internal climate migration in far-sighted green, resilient, and inclusive development planning.

● Preparing for each phase of migration, so that internal climate migration as an adaptation strategy can result in positive development outcomes.

● Investing in a better understanding of the drivers of internal climate migration to inform well-targeted policies.

Groundswell Report

● The Groundswell report is a stark reminder of the human toll of climate change, particularly on the world’s poorest who are contributing the least to its causes.

● It also clearly lays out a path for countries to address some of the key factors that are causing climate-driven migration.

● The updated report includes projections and analysis for three regions: East Asia and the Pacific, North Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

● It builds on the novel and pioneering modelling approach of the previous World Bank Groundswell report from 2018, which covered Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.

● By deploying a scenario-based approach, the report explores potential future outcomes, which can help decision-makers plan ahead.

○ The approach allows for the identification of internal climate in- and out-migration hotspots, namely the areas from which people are expected to move due to increasing water scarcity, declining crop productivity, and sea-level rise, and urban and rural areas with better conditions to build new livelihoods.

Global Efforts to address and climate change and Migration issues

● The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was created in 1992 as the main forum for international action on climate change. 195 countries have joined the international agreement (known as a convention).

○ It holds negotiations focus on four key areas:

■ Mitigating (reducing) greenhouse gas emissions.

■ Adapting to climate change.

■ Reporting of national emissions.

■ Financing of climate action in developing countries.

○ It commits all signatory nations to formulate, implement, publish and update measures to prepare for the impacts of climate change, known as ‘adaptation’.

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○ In 2010, the Cancun Adaptation Framework was adopted and it was agreed that adaptation must be given the same priority as mitigation.

■ The framework calls for further action on adaptation including reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience to climate change in developing countries.

● Paris Agreement: It is a landmark agreement as it brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, for the first time.

○ It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change that replaced the Kyoto Protocol, an earlier related agreement.

○ It was adopted by 196 parties at COP 21 in Paris, in December 2015 and entered into force in November 2016.

○ Conference of Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

○ Aims: To limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius as compared to pre-industrial levels.

(Image Courtesy: WEF)

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● Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030: It was adopted at the Third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015.

○ It applies to the risk of small-scale and large-scale, frequent and infrequent, sudden and slow-onset disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards, as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks.

● Major G20 Environment Related Initiatives

● Global Coral Reef Research and Development Accelerator Platform to accelerate scientific knowledge and technology development in support of coral reef survival, conservation, resilience, adaptation and restoration.

● Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) Platform as a tool towards affordable, reliable, and secure energy and economic growth.

● Global Compact on Refugees: On 17 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the Global Compact on Refugees, after two years of extensive consultations led by UNHCR with the Member States, international organizations, refugees, civil society, the private sector, and experts.

○ It is a framework for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing, recognizing that a sustainable solution to refugee situations cannot be achieved without international cooperation.

○ It provides a blueprint for governments, international organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure that host communities get the support they need and that refugees can lead productive lives.

● International Organization for Migration (IOM): Established in 1951, IOM is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.

○ It has 173 member states and it is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

India’s Efforts in this direction

● India has made remarkable commitments to tackle climate change and is on track to achieve its Paris Agreement targets.

● India’s renewable energy capacity is the fourth largest in the world.

● India has an ambitious target of achieving 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable

energy capacity by 2030.

● Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), announced in 2017 to pool best practices and resources from around the world for reshaping construction, transportation, energy, telecommunication and water.

● An India-France joint initiative of International Solar Alliance (ISA) with an aim to reduce carbon footprint.

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● Various National Schemes like National Action Plan on Climate Change, National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), National Biofuel Policy, etc

● India became an International Organization for Migration (IOM) Member State on 18 June 2008.

○ Since then, IOM in India has implemented several projects in various areas, including counter-trafficking, labour migration, and migrant assistance.

Source: DTH

Facts In News

Polity and Governance

Connect Karo 2021 Syllabus: GS 2/Government Policies & Interventions

In News

● Recently, the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas addressed the inaugural session of ‘Connect Karo 2021 - Towards Equitable, Sustainable Indian Cities’.

About Connect Karo 2021

● The Connect Karo 2021 event is being organized by the World Resources Institute (WRI) through video conferencing.

● It brings together Indian, global leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders committed to designing inclusive, sustainable and climate forward Indian cities.

● It is held every year and it sees presenters from various fields — air pollution, electric mobility, urban planning, urban water resilience, climate mitigation, and public transit among others sharing their insights and research findings.

● Theme: ‘Clean, Green & Just’.

● Focus: It will be on addressing critical challenges faced by Indian cities with an emphasis on deep dive cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Similar Initiatives for urban development

● There is an eight-fold increase in the total expenditure on urban development over the past six years (2015-2021), this figure is about Rs. 11.83 lakh crore against the Rs. 1.57 lakh crores from 2004 to 2014.

○ The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY): It has seen unprecedented success as nearly 1.13 crore houses have been sanctioned and beneficiaries have already moved into more than 50 lakh housing units.

■ An overwhelming majority of the housing has been developed by utilising sustainable and energy-efficient methods, incorporating advanced practices of land-use planning.

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● Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT Mission)

○ It has addressed the requirements of basic social infrastructure.

■ Under AMRUT, 1,831 parks over 3,700 acres have been developed, and 85 lakh street lights have been replaced, resulting in energy savings of 185.33 crore units (kWh).

● Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): They were achieved by the Government in implementing these Missions and these Missions focused on achieving economic growth, social justice, and environmental sustainability.

● Long-term policy framework: The government is also creating a long-term policy framework to move towards sustainable means of living.

○ For instance, the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework harmonised climate change policy, thus enabling cities to map a way forward to reduce their dependence on non-renewable energy.

● Urban Transport scheme: Under the Urban Transport scheme, public bus transport services will be augmented by deploying public-private partnerships to finance over 20,000 buses.

○ The government is supporting Public transport and Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) options across the country.

○ Currently, 721 km of the metro line are operational in 18 cities and a network of 1,058 km of the metro network is under construction in 27 cities, thereby reducing the traffic congestion, and the associated air quality and emissions concerns.

● Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban): Government will be launching the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban), with an outlay of Rs. 2.8 lakh crore to ensure universal water supply in all 4,378 urban local bodies in India and enable liquid waste management in 500 cities under the AMRUT scheme.

● Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0: the Government also be launching the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, with an outlay of Rs. 1.41 lakh crores to focus on sludge management, wastewater treatment, source segregation of garbage, and reduction in single-use plastics and control of air pollution by waste management in construction and demolition, and bioremediation dump sites.

About WRI India

● World Resources Institute (WRI) India is an independent charity legally registered as the India Resources Trust.

● It provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development.

● Its work focuses on building sustainable and liveable cities and working towards a low carbon economy.

Source:PIB

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Biodiversity and Environment

New Species of Hybodont Shark Syllabus:GS 3/Species in News

In News

● In a rare discovery, teeth of a new species of hybodontshark of the Jurassic age have been reported for the first time from Jaisalmer by a team of officers from the Geological Survey of India (GSI).

About

● Origin:

○ Hybodont sharks have been reported for the first time from the Jurassic rocks (approximately, between 160 and 168 million years old) of the Jaisalmer region of Rajasthan.

○ Hybodonts, an extinct group of sharks, was a dominant group of fishes in both marine and fluvial environments during the Triassic and early Jurassic times.

● Decline:

○ Hybodont sharks started to decline in marine environments from the Middle Jurassic onwards until they formed a relatively minor component of open-marine shark assemblages.

○ Hybodonts finally became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous time 65 million years ago.

● Newly discovered crushing teeth:

○ The newly discovered crushing teeth from Jaisalmer represent a new species named by the research team as Strophodusjaisalmerensis.

○ The genus Strophodus has been identified for the first time from the Indian subcontinent and is only the third such record from Asia

■ The other two being from Japan and Thailand.

○ The new species has recently been included in the Shark references.com

■ An international platform operating in association with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Species Survival Commission (SSC), and Germany.

Image Courtesy: PIB

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● Significance

○ This discovery marks an important milestone in the study of Jurassic vertebrate fossils in the Jaisalmer region of Rajasthan, and it opens a new window for further research in the domain of vertebrate fossils.

Geological Survey of India (GSI)

● It was founded in 1851 under the Ministry of Mines primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways.

● It is one of the oldest organisations in the world and the second oldest survey in India after the Survey after Survey of India (founded in 1767).

● GSI is the official participant in steel, coal, metals, cement, power industries and international geoscientific forums.

● Functions

○ Its main functions relate to creating and updating national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment.

■ These objectives are achieved through ground surveys, air-borne and marine surveys, mineral prospecting and investigations, multi-disciplinary geoscientific, geo-technical, geo-environmental and natural hazards studies, glaciology, seismic tectonic study, and carrying out fundamental research.

○ It is also the prime provider of basic earth science information to the government, industry and general public.

Source: PIB

Biodiversity & Environment

Tarballs Syllabus : GS 3/Environmental Pollution & Degradation

In News

● Recently, Girgaum Chowpatty, a famous tourist spot in South Mumbai, saw big, black oil-emanating balls “tarballs” lying on its sandy beach.

What are Tarballs?

● Tarballs are small light-absorbing, carbonaceous particles formed due to the burning of biomass or fossil fuels that deposit on snow and ice.

● They are also formed by weathering of crude oil in marine environments.

● They are transported from the open sea to the shores by sea currents and waves

● They are usually coin-sized and are found strewn on the beaches.

○ However, over the years, they have become as big as basketballs and can weigh as high as 6-7 kgs.

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Image Courtesy: FE

● Indications:

○ Most of the time, the presence of several tarballs indicate an oil spill.

○ However, its annual occurrence on the west coast during the monsoon has led marine biologists and experts to demand an investigation into the matter.

● Impacts:

○ Tarballs travelling towards the coast can get stuck to the fishing nets

installed in the sea, making it difficult for fishermen to clean.

○ In addition, it could affect marine life, especially filter feeders like clams and oysters.

○ Tarball pollution is a major concern to the global marine ecosystem.

■ Microbes such as bacteria and fungi are known to be associated with tarballs. They presumably play an important role in tarball degradation and some are potential human and animal pathogens.

■ The percentage of the tarballs increased on days of higher levels of pollution and could contribute to the hastening of glacial melt and global warming.

■ Tarballs can attract various heavy metals, including nickel, copper, and cobalt, to their surfaces.

● Tarball cases in the past:

■ Noted cases of tarball occurrences have been witnessed at Goa beaches since 2010, in South Gujarat, Mangaluru and at Los Angeles beaches

■ There has never been a case of a beach closing down due to tarballs in India.

Source: IE

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Biodiversity & Environment

Rare Mutation in Black Tiger Syllabus: GS3/ Species In News

In News

● Researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) have zeroed in on a rare mutation that results in large, merged stripes that cause the tiger to appear black in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).

About

● The rare mutation behind this has been found in Transmembrane Aminopeptidase Q or Taqpep gene.

● The main cause of the rare mutation is genetic drift. Due to this geographic isolation, genetically related individuals have been mating with each other for many generations in Similipal, leading to inbreeding.

● The Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) is the only tiger habitat in the world with melanistic tigers, which have broad black stripes running across their bodies and are thicker than those seen on normal tigers.

Black Tigers

● They are a rare colour variant of the tiger and are not a distinct species or geographic subspecies.

● The abnormally dark or black coat in such tigers is termed pseudomelanistic or false coloured.

● The only other black tigers outside of Similipal in India exist at the Nandankanan

Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, Ranchi Zoo and Chennai’s Arignar Anna Zoological Park.

● If you pick any tiger from Similipal, the chance that it carries the mutant gene is almost 60 per cent.

● The darker coat colour of the mutants offers them a selective advantage when hunting in the dense closed-canopy and relatively darker forested areas of Similipal as compared to the open plains of most other tiger habitats.

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Similipal Biosphere Reserve

● It is one of the largest biospheres in India. It is a national park and a tiger reserve

as well.

○ It derives its name from ‘Simul’ (silk cotton) tree.

○ It was declared a biosphere reserve by the Government of India in June

1994.

● Location:

○ It lies in the eastern end of the eastern ghat and is located in the northern

part of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.

● Spread:

○ It is spread over 4,374 sq. km, out of which 845 sq. km. is core forest (tiger

reserve), 2,129 sq km is the buffer area and 1,400 sq km is transition space.

● Flora:

○ It boasts of having tropical semi-evergreen forests, tropical moist deciduous

forests, dry deciduous hill forests, high-level sal forests and sprawling

meadows.

○ Sal is a dominant tree species.

● Fauna:

○ It is home to a wide range of wild animals including mammals like tigers

and elephants, besides species of birds, amphibians and reptiles, all of

which collectively highlight the biodiversity richness of Similipal.

● It also houses melanistic tigers which are found only in Odisha.

Source: IE

Defence

Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION Syllabus: GS3/ Defence

In News

● It is a Multilateral Exercise, which is conducted biennially as part of military

diplomacy between Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.

About

● The 6th edition of Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION is being hosted by Russia in

the Orenburg Region of South-West Russia from 13 to 25 September 2021.

● The aim of the exercise is to foster close relations between SCO member states and

to enhance the abilities of the military leaders to command multinational military

contingents.

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Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

● It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.

● Its creation was announced on 15th June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by Kazakhstan,

China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and was preceded by the

Shanghai Five mechanism.

● India and Pakistan became members in 2017. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and

Mongolia are observer states.

● The SCO Nations, together encompass nearly half the human population on our

planet. In terms of geography, it covers approximately three-fifths of the Eurasian

continent.

● The SCO Charter was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19th

September 2003.

● Aims:

○ Strengthen mutual trust and neighbourliness.

○ Promote effective cooperation in politics, economy, technology, culture,

education, tourism, environmental protection, etc.

○ Maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.

○ The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body,

which meets once a year.

● Its chairmanship rotates on a yearly basis and Tajikistan is the chair for 2021.

● Official Languages: Russian and Chinese.

● Two Permanent Bodies: SCO Secretariat, Beijing and Executive Committee of the

Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), Tashkent.

Source: PIB

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