1. INDUSTRY 4.0 (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Under the scheme “Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector”, Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is providing financial assistance to the Project Implementing Organizations (PIOs) and the Industry Associations for organization of seminars, training programmes and workshops to increase awareness about Industry 4.0 amongst the Indian manufacturing industries.

Industry 4.0 (4IR):

• Meaning: Also known as Globalisation 4.0, it is formed by technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and the internet of things (IoT) according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

o It is revolutionizing the way companies manufacture, improve and distribute their products integrating these technologies.

• Introduced by: The term was first coined by the German government in 2011.
• Stages of Industrial Revolution:

o 1st revolution (End of 18th C.): Moving from manual to mechanical by harnessing steam and water power, replacing raw muscle. Ex.: - Steam Engine, Cotton gin, Power loom etc.

o 2nd revolution (Start of 20th C.): Took advantage of electricity and the assembly line to generate mass production.

o 3rd revolution (Start of 1970s): In this, digital and applied electronics and information technology to processes of production. Mass customisation and additive manufacturing, the so-called ‘3D printing’.

o4th revolution (Present): It is the revolution in which the physical world, the digital world, and the virtual world are colliding together, creating smart products, procedures and processes, and smart factories. This is based on primarily cyber-physical systems and the Internet of Things to create a highly intelligent, integrated, and automated manufacturing ecosystem that spans far beyond the traditional “factory floor.”

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2. RED SEA (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: The United States has announced the launch of a multinational force to protect trade in the Red Sea after attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels forced at least a dozen shipping lines to suspend operations

Red sea

• About: The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia.

oAbout 12 percent of global trade passes through the Red Sea, which connects to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, including 30 percent of container traffic.

• Bordering Countries:Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti.
• Salient features: Part of African Rift Valley(Great Rift Valley).
• Nearby important locations:

oBab el Mandeb  strait :  It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. (in the Indian ocean).

oGulf of Aqaba: A large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. Its coastline is divided among four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

oSuez Canal: It  is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia.

About Houthi:

• It is Yemen's Iran-backed rebels group.
• It  is a Shia Islamist political and military organization.

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3. VOLCANO (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: A volcano that had rumbled for weeks erupted in southwestern Iceland.

Volcano

• About: A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s crust through which molten rock, hot gases, and other materials erupt.
• Causes: Three predominate causes:

oThe buoyancy of the magma,

oThe pressure from the exsolved gases in the magma,

oThe injection of a new batch of magma into an already filled magma chamber. 

• Classification:

oActive volcanoes have a recent history of eruptions; they are likely to erupt again. 

oDormant volcanoes have not erupted for a very long time but may erupt at a future time.

oExtinct volcanoes are not expected to erupt in the future.

• Main types of volcanoes:

oShield Volcanoes: Low explosivity, basaltic flow. eg- Hawaii volcano

oComposite: They are usually tall with steep even sides and are made out of repeating layers of lava flows. more viscous and cooler lava than basalt, sometimes called stratovolcanoes. eg: Mount Fuji in Japan.

oCaldera: these are most explosive volcanoes, collapses when erupt.

• Distribution Of Volcanoes:

oCircum pacific ring of fire- Most of the volcanoes of earth, active subduction of pacific, Nazca cocos, jaun-de-fuca plate.

oMid Atlantic belt - Along mid Atlantic ridge.

oMid Continental belt- It includes volcanoes of the Alpine mountains and Mediterranean sea.

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4. ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUND (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has  issued an advisory on Tuesday to banks and financial companies to curb the evergreening of loans and misuse of they alternative investment funds AIF route

Alternative investment funds (AIF)

• About: Alternative Investment Fund or AIF is any fund established in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle that collects funds from sophisticated investors, both Indian or foreign, for investing.

o AIF does not include funds covered under Indian market regulator SEBI’s mutual fund regulations.

• Categorization:

o Category I AIFs: They include venture capital funds like angel funds, SME Funds, social venture funds, infrastructure funds and such other AIFs as may be specified.

o Category II AIFs are those which are not classified under Category I or Category III. They do not undertake leverage or borrowing other than to meet day-to-day operational requirements and as permitted in the regulations

o Category III AIFs are funds which employ complex or diverse trading strategies and may employ leverage including through investment in listed or unlisted derivatives hedge funds, PIPE Funds, etc.

• Salient features:

o Category I and II AIFs are required to be close ended and have a minimum tenure of three years.

o An AIF under the SEBI regulations can be incorporated in the form of a trust or a company or a limited liability partnership or a body corporate.

o No scheme of an AIF, with the exception of angel funds, shall have more than 1000 investors.

o Each scheme of an AIF shall have a corpus of at least twenty crore rupees. In case of an angel fund, it shall have a corpus of at least ten crore rupees. 

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5. LUMPY SKIN DISEASE Syllabus GS Paper 3 - Sci & tech)

Context:. Questioning the Union Animal Husbandry Ministry’s data that more than two lakh cattle and buffaloes had died by lumpy skin disease in 2022 and 2023.

lumpy skin disease

• About Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease that affects cattle. It is genetically related to the goatpox and sheeppox virus family.
• Transmitted by blood-feeding insects, such as certain species. of flies and mosquitoes, or ticks.
• Causes: fever, nodules on the skin and can also lead to death, especially in animals that that have not previously been exposed to the virus.
• Symptoms:

o The incubation period for lumpy skin disease is between  14 day post-infection.

o After an initial period of high fever (41°C) and swollen lymph glands, the animal may develop large, firm nodules that are up to 5 cm in diameter in the skin.

o These can be found all over the body, but particularly on the: head.

• Guidelines for prevention of Lumpy Skin Disease:

o Preventive measures: Control of animal movement, Restriction with affected animals and persons dealing with such animals, Vaccination.

o Bio-security measures: Disinfection of premises at regular intervals, Immediate isolation of sick animal from the healthy animals.

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6. HIGH FAT SUGAR SALT (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & technology)

Context:The consumption of High Fat Sugar Salt (HFSS) foods is one of the major risk factors to a host of health issues that include obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure

HIGH FAT SUGAR SALT (HFSS):

• About: Foods (any food or drink, packaged or nonpackaged) which contain low amounts of proteins, vitamins, phytochemicals, minerals and dietary fiber but are rich in fat (saturated fatty acids), salt and sugar and high in energy (calories) that are known to have negative impact on health if consumed regularly or in high amounts.
• Causes:

oThe Convenience of Processed Food: Regardless of the individual item, processed food and fast-food products are generally easy to grab and take with you.

oThe Affordability of Processed Food: Processed food is so accessible, affordable and convenient, it becomes easy to forgo nutritious food.

Health impact:

• Increased risk and incidence of certain diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers as well as contributing to high levels of obesity both for children and adults.
• Affect immune status and recovery from infection and common deficiencies like anemia, children and young people are overweight or obese

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7. NOMA DISEASE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & Tech)

Context: The World Health Organization (WHO) recently added one of the world’s most underrecognized health challenges, noma, to its official list of neglected tropical diseases (NTD).

Noma Disease

• About: Also known as cancrum oris or gangrenous stomatitis, it is a severe gangrenous disease of the mouth and face with a mortality rate of approximately 90%. It is also associated with extreme poverty, malnutrition and poor access to sanitation and oral hygiene. 

oThe disease is also called the ‘face of poverty’, as effective drugs like sulfonamides and penicillin and adequate surgical treatment for the effects remain inaccessible for many due to extreme poverty.

• Affected group: It mainly affects children aged 2-6 years old and is found most commonly among those living in poor communities. There is an extreme lack of awareness regarding the disease.
• Spread: While the disease is not contagious, it prefers to attack when the body’s defences are weak. 
• Caused by: The disease begins with gum inflammation and is thought to be caused by bacteria found in the mouth.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)

• About: They are a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• Caused by: A variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms (helminths).
• World NTD Day: January 30.
• London Declaration on NTDs: It was adopted on 30th January 2012 to recognize the global burden of NTDs.
• Why called neglected? Because they are almost absent from the global health agenda, have very limited resources and are almost ignored by global funding agencies. NTDs are diseases of neglected populations that perpetuate a cycle of poor educational outcomes and limited professional opportunities; in addition, are associated with stigma and social exclusion.

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8. BLACK HOLE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & Tech)

Black Hole:

• Meaning: It is a cosmic body of extremely intense gravityfrom which nothing, not even light, can escape.

oA black hole can be formed by the death of a massive star.

oWhen such a star has exhausted the internal thermonuclear fuels in its core at the end of its life, the core becomes unstable and gravitationally collapses inward upon itself, and the star’s outer layers are blown away.

• Background:

o1st predicted by: Albert Einstein in 1916, with his general theory of relativity.

oFirst interpretation of "black hole": By David Finkelstein in 1958, as a region of space from which nothing can escape.

oThe term "black hole" was coined: In 1967 by American astronomer John Wheeler.

oCygnus X-1: The first black hole identified by several researchers independently in 1971.

• Detection: Because light cannot get out, black holes are invisible and can only be tracked with the help of spatial telescopes and special tools.

oThe first image of a black hole was captured in 2019 by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration.

• Types: According to their mass with respect to the mass of our sun. There are four types of black holes: stellar, intermediate, supermassive, and miniature.
• Causes of different sizes of black holes: Black holes come in many sizes and their size depends on how much material is in them (their mass).

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9. NATIONAL COOPERATIVE EXPORTS LIMITED (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: The Ministry of Cooperation recently informed the Parliament about the functioning of National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL).

National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL)

• Formation: It is formed under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
• Objective: To provide a complete ecosystem for the promotion of exports mainly of agri commodities for the benefit of our farmers, in which India has a comparative advantage.
• Membership: All cooperative societies from the level of primary to apex, that are interested in exports, are eligible to become members. The NCEL has provision of two kinds of members, as per details given below:

oOrdinary Members:

üAny multi-state co-operative society or any co-operative society registered or deemed to be registered under any law relating to co-operative societies for the time being in force in any State or UT;

üThe National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC) established under the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act,1 962 (26 of 1962);

üSuch class or classes of persons or associations of persons as may be permitted by the Central Registrar having regard to the nature and activities of the Society.

üNo individual shall be eligible to become an ordinary member of the NCEL.

oNominal or associate member: The society may, in the interest of the promotion of its business, admit any person, including cooperative banks, as a nominal member or associate member in accordance with the provisions of the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act on payment of a non-refundable fee of Rupees one lakh only.

• Significance:

oIt will provide thrust to exports from cooperative sector by acting as an umbrella organization for carrying out and promoting exports.

oThis will help in unlocking export potential of Indian cooperatives in global markets, help cooperatives in getting benefits of various export related schemes and policies of different ministries of Government of India in a focused manner through ‘Whole of Government Approach.’

oThis will also help in achieving the goal of “Sahkar-se-Samriddhi” through the inclusive growth model of cooperatives.

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10. MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Paddy procurement under the minimum support price (MSP) scheme declined 13% on year to 36.54 million tonne (MT) so far in the current season.

Minimum Support Price (MSP)

• About: MSP serves as a government-established rate at which crops are bought from farmers, providing them with protection against significant declines in agricultural prices.
• Announced by: The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) recommends MSPs for 22 mandated crops and Fair and Remunerative Prices (FRP) for sugarcane.
• Origin of Concept: MSP was initially introduced in 1966, drawing inspiration from the Green Revolution.
• Crops covered: 7 types of cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley)

o5 types of pulses (chana, arhar/tur, urad, moong and masoor)

o7 oilseeds (rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, sesamum, safflower, niger seed)

o4 commercial crops (cotton, sugarcane, copra, raw jute).

• Factors for Recommending the MSP: Demand and supply, Cost of production, Price trends in the market, Both domestic and international, inter-crop price parity, Terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture, A minimum of 50 percent as the margin over the cost of production, Implications of MSP on consumers of that product.

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